Gensokyo's Heart
by AntagonistChan
Summary: Evolution Master Abathur and a small force of Zerg come to Gensokyo in an attempt to assimilate the local Youkai into the Swarm, but instead, Gensokyo assimilates them into itself.
1. Friendship

**Hello, Antagonist here. This idea has been stuck in my mind ever since I realized how awesome Abathur was.**

**I'm just gonna warn you right now, Abathur (and most other characters, for that matter) in this story is a **_**massive**_** example of the Alternative Character Interpretation trope. Abathur is a massive villain in canon, and I certainly like him that way, but a villainous Abathur just didn't work for the story. Don't worry, Abathur's still _Abathur__. _He's still creepy, he's still obsessed with essence, he's still got that weird speech impediment, he's still Abathur. He's just a little more sympathetic than in canon.**

**So, here we go- the first chapter of Gensokyo's Heart.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Spinning strands and sequences. There was a lot of meaning in that sentence. It involved collecting the essence brought in from the Swarm, consuming that essence, analyzing that essence, and applying that essence to various Zerg strains. You didn't just apply essence willy-nilly. Evolving Zerg creatures was an art, one that required immense skill. Kerrigan and the Overmind could both do it, but it was difficult, and as such, they relied on Abathur to do it for them.

And Abathur liked it that way. Or, so he thought.

Searching for essence. Telling Kerrigan, "Hey, you might want to check that essence out." Collecting the essence that Kerrigan gives you. Working it into the Swarm, or sometimes into Kerrigan herself. Finding Essence on other worlds. Telling Kerrigan to bring the Leviathan to those worlds. Having her destroy unique creatures. Utilizing that unique essence into a specific Zerg unit to give them new, previously unseen abilities, such as creating Swarm Hosts that could tunnel like Nydus worms, or Zerglings that could hop cliffs. That was Abathur's existence. And that was all that Abathur would ever be.

He never thought about it until recently. However, the thought that this would be how he would spend the rest of his life, despite the fact that he loved doing it… it made him feel uneasy. Uncomfortable. He didn't like feeling things. It got in the way of his work. The work that he lived for.

And so, he stayed in the evolution pit, continued working, and didn't think about it. If he avoided the topic, he could keep working. And that was good enough for him.

His resolution, and his work on his personal project, were interrupted by Kerrigan entering the chamber, her bony wings trailing behind her.

"Abathur," she commanded, walking up to the Evolution Master. "I need an upgrade for the new Defilers."

Ah, yes. Abathur had recently managed to reconstitute Defilers for use in the Swarm. They weren't the best, and Kerrigan herself used Infestors more, but Defilers still had their uses.

"Three upgrades available," Abathur responded. "No different from others. Can increase usable energy by 20% by utilizing Infestor essence in design. Can add light defensive attack by reprogramming minds of symbiotic microbes. Can add light defensive ability that allows for symbiosis of Vile Roach microorganisms. Which to choose?"

Kerrigan pondered for a moment, before responding, "I'll take that second one. Defilers need to be able to defend themselves. At least the Infestors can just spawn Infested Terrans to protect itself."

Abathur nodded sagely. "Will do," he answered. "Should be ready for next mission."

"About that," Kerrigan sighed. "There's something I need you to do."

"Hmm?" he asked in response. For a creature with as much echo in their voice as him, the sound was very strange indeed.

"Our next mission is a Tal'Darim outpost. They're guarding a Xel'Naga artifact, and I want to know what the hell it does," Kerrigan answered. "It looks like some sort of door, but for all I know, that's just an entrance for the chamber that the _real_ artifact is kept in."

"Unrelated to me," Abathur narrowed his eyes. "Only focus is improving the Swarm."

"It's related to you, now," Kerrigan glowered. "I want you finding out what that thing does as soon as I've wiped out the Tal'Darim. I've told you in the past- the only reason I haven't killed you yet is because you're useful to me. As a Xel'Naga expert, you'll be even more useful. You _do_ want to stay alive, don't you?"

Abathur groaned in defeat. "Will… will do," he answered. "Cannot improve the Swarm if deceased."

"Good," Kerrigan smiled. "Good to know that we're in agreement. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk strategy with Stukov."

As she walked away, Abathur just glared at her. His meaning in life was to improve her soldiers. She gave him purpose. So why did he feel so much contempt for her?

On the plus side, his new job wouldn't interfere with his personal project, seeing as he was already incredibly close to completion.

…

Abathur awoke to find the Evolution Pit empty except for him. He must have fallen asleep working on his project.

The sounds of battle plagued the room. He heard Zerg scream as they died, and Protoss yelling out as they, too, lost their lives.

He wandered out into the Leviathan's nerve center, finding that the usual crowd had stayed behind on the Leviathan, as usual.

"Greetings, comrade," Alexei Stukov greeted, waving from his seat across the room. "Join us, battle is interesting."

Abathur crawled over to the transparent wall showing off the world outside. Kerrigan and a group of Zerglings were annihilating a small Tal'Darim base.

"It's a small base, but our Queen will take it over and use it as a base of operations," Izsha said calmly. "From there, she will attack the Tal'Darim's main colony."

"It's very strategically sound!" Zagara piped up with enthusiasm. "Much better than taking over a completely different base! This one is close!"

"Feh!" Dehaka snarled. "I, would, not, create, a, base. I, would, already, be, ready. I, will, collect."

Abathur personally couldn't stand Dehaka. Much like the rest of the Primal Zerg, who he spent hours trying to keep away from the Evolution Pit, his design was sloppy and improvised. He could easily improve the Primal Zerg greatly, but they would never allow it. Such illogical creatures.

"You forget, normal Zerg need Hives to even survive. You don't understand military strategy, Dehaka, because you're the leader of an animalistic pack," Stukov pointed out. "Kerrigan and I were both military personnel, her Terran and I human, before we were infested. We know strategy."

"There's no difference between a Terran and a human!" Zagara spat.

"You would be very wrong in that regard," Stukov smiled. "Humans were born on Earth. Terrans were born in the Koprulu Sector. Since you weren't born yet during the Brood Wars, you wouldn't know."

"An idea that makes no sense," Izsha commented. "Terra is another name for Earth."

"Is it?" asked Stukov. "Kerrigan does store her memories in you, so I guess you'd know. I didn't know that. I'm Russian; English is not my first language."

"It's not English," Izsha continued. "It's Italian. It's also Latin for Land."

"Eh, it's unimportant. Bottom line, I learned something about my own culture from a Zerg hard drive," Stukov joked.

"Hard drive?" asked Izsha.

"Human technology," Stukov answered. "And, I suppose Terran, too. Stores the memory of computers. Since Kerrigan uses you as a sort of… memory bank, no pun intended, I thought I would make the reference."

"I, do, not, need, a, hard, drive," Dehaka growled. "I, will, evolve, a, larger, brain."

"Fascinating," Abathur spoke up, surprising everyone. "May attempt to replicate someday."

Stukov laughed. "Good to see that you're interested, good friend! I may try to get an adjutant onboard some day, let you study it. Maybe you'll learn something that will revolutionize the entire Zerg Swarm! Hahaha!"

Abathur stalled at this. What was it that Stukov had called him?

"Good friend?" Abathur asked.

"Huh?" asked Stukov.

"Explain," clarified Abathur. "Good friend?"

"Oh!" Stukov smiled. "That's what you meant! Well, aren't we friends? We work together, we watch entertainment together, we chat- I would call that friendship."

"Friendship is a Terran concept!" Zagara sneered. "We have no need of it!"  
"I disagree!" Stukov grinned. "In case you haven't noticed, we all work for the Queen of Blades out of admiration, in the case of Zagara and Izsha, fear, in the case of Zagara, or necessity, in the case of Dehaka, Abathur, and I. But that's _work_. When we have time off, we all hang out together in here and share happiness! That's the very definition of friendship, at least in my book! Kerrigan is our fearless leader, but she's not our friend. _We're_ each other's friends."

"Interesting notion," Abathur noted. "Perhaps not entirely… incorrect."

"I, do, not, need, friends. I, have, a, pack," Dehaka smiled (as much as a mandibled creature could smile). "This, does, not, mean, it, is, a, completely, bad, idea."

"Oh, alright!" Zagara sighed in defeat. "I guess we _are_ friends or whatever. My true devotion still lies with the Queen!"

At that moment, Kerrigan reentered. Upon turning back to the screen, the Tal'Darim had been massacred. Abathur supposed it was time to work, now.

"Welcome back, my Queen," Izsha greeted. "Was your mission successful?"

"Moderately," Kerrigan groaned. "I defeated all the Tal'Darim out here, but there are more in that… _tomb_, and by the time I've defeated them, backup will have arrived. You guys are coming with me, now! I need to wipe the Tal'Darim out quickly, before reinforcements arrive!"

Abathur would have raised an eyebrow if he had one. This was new.

…

Alright, everyone, remember to review! No, really, I need the criticism. Even a scathing review will help me as a writer.


	2. Abathur's Arrival

**Hello again, Antagonist here. This chapter introduces our first scenes in Gensokyo, as well as our last scenes in the Koprulu Sector (although, it'll be in that order, not the other way around). Well, our last scenes in the Koprulu Sector for a while, at least. Onto chapter two!**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project is the property of Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft is the property of Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

In the end, Izsha was the only one who didn't accompany Kerrigan into the chamber, as she couldn't really leave the Leviathan anyways. As Kerrigan led the small Zerg army into the chamber, some intelligent ones marveling at the strange device at the other end, Stukov ruined their cover.

"Wahaha!" he shouted. "I haven't been in a real fight since Skygierr!"

Kerrigan briefly turned around and glared at him, before running at the Tal'Darim base. Now that they knew they were here, all bets were off. The Swarm would obliterate them.

…

"Wahaha!" shouted Marisa Kirisame. "I feel like a million yen today!"

"And guess who doesn't," grumbled Reimu Hakurei.

The pair was only killing time in the summer heat. There weren't any incidents to deal with, and it _was_ a very hot day. Marisa dealt with the heat by staying in the air, where the winds were stronger, whereas Reimu dealt with it by lazing around. Currently, her feet were dangling off the edge of the shrine, while she lay on her back. Her upper half was covered by the shade of the roof, while the rest of her body succumbed to the sunlight. Since she was currently baring her midriff, she was reasonably certain that she was going to get a sunburn, but she didn't care enough to do anything about it.

"C'mon, Reimu!" Marisa grinned. "Lighten up! We've got all summer to laze around, let's go _do_ something!"

"Don't feel like it," Reimu sighed. "It's too hot. Maybe if it cools down."

"Did somebody say cold?!" shouted a nearby voice. Reimu just glared in the general direction of the source, while Marisa grinned. "Because I can do that!"

"I said cool, not cold," Reimu sighed. "You idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!" Cirno shouted. "I'm a genius! Cool and cold are synonymous anyways!"

"Oh? How'd you learn that word?" Reimu asked, sitting up. Cirno's mere presence made the shrine cooler, encouraging Reimu to laze a _little bit _less. It was still warm out, though.

"Sensei!" Cirno grinned in pride. "I _do_ get tutored, ya know."

"To be fair, Reimu," Marisa pointed out. "Cirno's pretty bright for a fairy. It's no wonder Keine tutors her and that green-haired friend of hers, ze."

"Dai is the smartest! Just like I am the Strongest!" Cirno proclaimed.

"Sure ya are!" Marisa encouraged, flying down to ruffle the ice fairy's hair. "Strongest in the land, smartest in the magical community! Without you two, Gensokyo'd fall apart, ze!"

"Don't encourage her, Marisa," Reimu groaned. "She'll prank everyone if she gets too confident. That's always how it's been with her. And, like always, she'll _start_ by throwing _eggs_ at the Shrine. Like she _always does_. And I will have to clean it up, as I _always have to do when she gets too confident_."

"Aw, come on!" Cirno cried. "I won't do it this time! I promise!"

"So, you admit that you're going to prank people period," Reimu sighed, bringing her fingertips to her forehead. "Fine. I'll let you get away with it this time. Just make sure your pranks don't get too out of control. The humans in the village would complain, and I would have to kill you. Again."

"G-got it, ma'am!" the fairy responded immediately, saluting nervously.

"Heh!" Marisa laughed. "Don't worry, kid, it probably won't have to come down to that."

Cirno nodded, but didn't seem at all comforted by Marisa's words.

…

Abathur had little in the way of combat ability. It just wasn't what he was designed for. He was practically designed to never meet the Protoss- he was the Zerg Evolution Master. The Zerg couldn't infest the Protoss or use their essence, since the Protoss were protected by the Khala. Ergo, he had no use for the Protoss, and he couldn't even defend himself from one.

So _why_ Kerrigan made him join her in her attack was lost on him. Perhaps it had something to do with the giant arch at the end of the hall, likely the artifact. It might even have been purely for speed reasons. Backup was soon, after all. This didn't change the fact that he could die at any moment.

When a Zealot got too close for comfort, a nearby group of five Zerglings pounced into action. When a Stalker blinked right behind him, an Ultralisk saved him. A trio of Mutalisks carried him away from a High Templar that attempted to Psi-storm him. A Hydralisk seemed to snipe an interceptor that wandered out a little too far from its carrier and a little too close to Abathur, and a pair of Roaches took it upon themselves to follow Abathur from underground to keep him out of trouble. Of course, they were all just being controlled by Kerrigan, which showed that Kerrigan was _aware_ of his inability to fight. So _why did she bring him?!_

His strange contempt for her grew less strange.

As his Roach bodyguards unburrowed to protect him from an Immortal, he couldn't help but fantasize about ruling the Swarm himself. It would never happen, of course, and he wouldn't be happy doing it, but he felt like he was actually taking power away from Kerrigan. And that made him feel good.

Before he knew it, Kerrigan had destroyed a giant Colossus, killing the remainder of the Tal'Darim forces.

Kerrigan walked over to the end of the chamber. Staring at the massive arch, she held her hand out and touched it- seemingly activating it. She closed her eyes and shuddered as the glowing green energy of Xel'Naga coursed over the device. The empty, black hall behind the arch was replaced by a glowing green wall. And then, Kerrigan opened her eyes.

"Abathur, I've got an update on our little… agreement," she grinned.

"Clarify?" he asked.

"I know what the Xel'Naga device does, now," she answered. "It's a portal. It leads to a marvelous place, filled with fantastic creatures. Creatures that shape reality to their very will. Creatures that constantly fight and improve their tactics. _Humanoid_ creatures. This place is called… Gensokyo."

…

Reimu Hakurei, now up and about cleaning the Shrine due to Cirno's presence, felt a shock go down her spine. Something was very wrong. Or, it would be, soon.

…

"Gensokyo?" Stukov asked. "That sounds… Japanese."

"It is," Kerrigan grinned. "It's hidden on Earth, protected by something called the Hakurei barrier. This portal alone can break past that barrier, and it has to send the user back in time a few centuries for it to work right, but it can work! And I know the person to send through."

"The, Evolver?" Dehaka asked, referring to Abathur. "I, must, be, correct."

"That you are, Dehaka!" Kerrigan grinned wildly. "Abathur's going to go in. He's not gonna go alone, though, that's pointless. He'd die too fast without help. So, I'll send the Zerg who assisted him in this battle with him as bodyguards!"

Stukov raised an eyebrow.

"That's magnificent, my queen!" Zagara complimented. "Except for one thing. How would be reconstitute old and new Zerg or upgrade the existing ones? The Evolution Master could be gone for a long time!"

"Not to mention, he's not horrible to be around," Stukov added. "I want to keep him around."

"I'm sorry, who's the Queen of Blades? You, or me?"

Stukov and Zagara backed down. Stukov glanced apologetically at Abathur, as if to say, "Sorry, I tried."

"Do not mind," Abathur answered. "Will miss… friends, but will return soon."

"One more thing, Abathur," Kerrigan grinned. "I don't want you to infest the Youkai- the creatures that live there. That could turn out very badly for us. Just focus on collecting Essence and spinning it into the existing Zerg. Also, I want you to take your personal project with you."

Abathur silently cursed himself. Of course Kerrigan knew. She knew everything that happened in the evolution pit. She saw through the eyes of the Zerg in there.

"Personal project?" Stukov asked. "You didn't tell us about it."

"He kept it a secret from me, too," Kerrigan grinned. "He was just too naive to realize that there was no way I didn't know. After all, miniature Leviathans are a pretty big deal."

"Miniature Leviathan?" Zagara asked. "How does that work?"

"Spin strands of Swarm Hosts, Brood Lords, Splitter Banelings, and Scantipedes into Leviathan sequences," Abathur sighed. "Have been working on it for months."

"Anyways, I'm bringing it over right now," Kerrigan answered. "It should be coming around… now!"

And it did. The miniature Leviathan, currently passing the stairwell down into the chamber, was about the size of a bungalow. It had only one large room, which would theoretically be able to contain all of the other Zerg with Abathur. Except for the Ultralisk. Abathur would have to find something to do about that.

The Miniature Leviathan was closely followed by Tal'Darim reinforcements.

"Dammit!" Kerrigan cursed. "Get yourself and your troops onboard now! Go through the portal, and steal the very essence of Gensokyo!"

Abathur crawled over to the Leviathan when it landed, and the Zerg chosen to accompany him boarded, too, with the exception of the Ultralisk.

With one last glance at those fighting the Tal'Darim, the Leviathan and the Ultralisk headed through the portal.

…

Once through the portal, Abathur was greeted by sunlight. He looked through the transparent wall of the Leviathan, and found that… Gensokyo was natural. Forests, mountain ranges, and a lake. It was like a postcard that he once found in Kerrigan's chamber.

"...Interesting," he noted. "Was expecting a war zone. Can barely tell that Youkai fight here."

He looked down, and saw the Ultralisk waiting. He instructed it to burrow- he'd figure out somewhere else to keep the thing later.

The Leviathan continued onwards, coming within sight of… some sort of base of operations. Was this a Youkai hive?

…

"Aw, come on, sensei!" a human child cried. "Can't we go outside? Math is boring!"

"No, we can't," Keine Kamishirasawa chided. "Math may be boring, but you need it. You need to be in top shape before summer break begins!"

"Hmph…" he groaned. "I wanna-"

"What's that?!" a little girl interrupted, pointing out the window. "There's something in the sky!"

"It's probably just that boat temple," another girl groaned. "It's nothing."

"No!" the girl cried. "I know what the Myouren Temple looks like, and it's not that! It's like… a fish! With tentacles, and spikes on the end!"

That alarmed Keine. She walked briskly over to the window in question and looked up, seeing some sort of… hideous abomination.

"Dear lord," she breathed. "Everybody, I'm going to go get Fujiwara-san! She'll watch you while I take this up with the authorities!"

"Okay!" the class responded in harmony.

Keine ran out the door, and immediately ran off to go get Mokou.

…

"Slow down, Cirno," Reimu sighed. "Could you repeat that?"

"I said, I'm gonna make a _biiiig _ice cube, and stuff it down one of Yukari's gaps!" Cirno grinned. "Like stuffing an ice cube down someone's shirt!"

"As tempting as it is to do that to Yukari, I don't think it would work. It wouldn't actually touch her back," Reimu explained. "It'll just float around in that weird dimension of eyes."

"Reimu!" shouted a voice, obviously full of panic. Reimu turned around in alarm, seeing Keine Kamishirasawa run underneath the arch.

"Kamishirasawa-sensei?" Reimu asked.

"Sensei!" Cirno grinned.

"Reimu, there's something above the human village!" Keine cried. "It's horrible, it's monstrous!"

That made Reimu perk up.

"Let me at it," she said. "Marisa, we've got something to deal with!"

"I heard ya, ze!" she grinned, flying down. "Abomination, eh? We usually deal with human-lookin' Youkai. This ought to be good."

…

Sarah Louise Kerrigan wandered the halls of the Leviathan, stopping to take a look at the empty evolution pit.

"You're wondering if you made the right choice," Stukov said from behind her. "Aren't you?"

"Augh!" she shouted. "Tell me that you're here next time!"

"Sorry. This part of the Leviathan is very dark," he apologized. "We should probably do something about that."

"Never mind about that," Kerrigan sighed. "Yes, I am. I sure as hell don't miss having him around, he's despicable, but I'm worried about the Swarm. What if he takes a year to gather all the essence he needs? I should have sent more Zerg with him."

"It is too late to deal with that now," Stukov smiled. "Quite honestly, I am somewhat envious of him. He gets to go to a place as wonderful as Earth."

"Yeah, well," Kerrigan responded. "It's not a vacation. He has to work more than ever now."

"I understand," Stukov backed up. "Well, let's head back to the nerve center, shall we?"

Kerrigan simply stared for a moment before following him.

"I just hope he doesn't leave us in the dust."

…

And that's it for chapter two! Remember to review! Antagonist, signing off.


	3. Pure and Honest Reporting

**Abathur's introduction to Gensokyo is already heating up. What kind of adventures will continue on from here?**

**When reading the previous chapters, remember Stukov and Dehaka's accents, and the strange echoing of the voices of Kerrigan, Abathur, Izsha, and Zagara. It'll be a while until we see anyone from Starcraft other than Abathur, but I felt that I should remind you that all of the Zerg sound funny.**

**And to respond to some reviews:**

**Guest:**

**"villainous Abathur doesn't work"**

**Why?**

**-I probably should have clarified. My original plan was for Abathur to start out totally villainous, and have Gensokyo change him. However, while I was writing, instead of writing, "Evil, intimidating Evolution Master," I ended up writing, "Evolution Master in an existential crisis."**

**-In other words, I can't write him well enough as a villain without sacrificing an interesting viewpoint of Gensokyo and the Koprulu Sector, and that viewpoint is a lot more important to me than his villainy, especially since, while I still love it a lot, it's my least favorite part about his character. The fact that the part I like the least is still special to me just shows how much I love Abathur.**

**Dead Pann:**

**That scene with Abathur being carried around by other Zergs was pretty funny to imagine.**

**Abathur's mini-leviathan is toast, although I assume not all of the Zerg with him will die.**

**I hope he doesn't kill anyone.**

**Will Yukari give him a more... humanoid body?**

**-That's a big part of why I included it. The other part was to break up the monotony of "These Zerg saved him. These Zerg saved him." I can also safely say that Abathur won't kill anyone, this story isn't that dark, but injury is still a major possibility. As for a humanoid body and the Zerg with him dying, those are spoilers. I will say, however, that****_something_****will happen to the mini Leviathan.**

**On another note, I'm waiting for FF to add the HotS characters to the character listings. It annoys me that you can list L80ETC as a character but not Abathur.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

As the trio neared the human village, Keine pointed at the behemoth in the sky.

"Holy-!" Marisa grimaced. "That thing's the size of a building!"

"And it's covered in weapons," Reimu pointed out. "Look- those are spikes at the ends of those tentacles. Danmaku might not be enough to take this thing down."

"I don't like the sound of that," Marisa sighed. "We haven't used anything other than Danmaku since before the Scarlet Mist Incident. You created the system just after we lost Mima in Makai, right?"

"That sounds like it was about the same time, yeah," Reimu returned. "It's been years, but we may have to resort to tactics we haven't used since the Mystic Square Incident."

"If you do that," Keine piped up. "Be sure not to destroy the Village. I'd like to keep the place I'm protecting _safe_ from Youkai. Not that I know what kind of Youkai this thing is."

"I wouldn't be sure that it's even a Youkai," Reimu groaned. "Looks like something out of Makai. Which sounds like another reason why Danmaku might not be enough, the denizens of Makai were tough."

"Well, let's start with Danmaku and see if that's enough to hurt it," Marisa grinned. "We might end up taking it down quickly, ze!"

"Don't do that!" Keine shrieked uncharacteristically. "What if it landed in the Village?! That thing could land and destroy someone's home! It could kill at least five people by falling alone!"

"Yeesh, Keine," Marisa responded, wide-eyed. "Didn't take you for much of a panicker. Don't worry, we'll make sure it doesn't die or anything. Unless it's too dangerous, in which case we'll blow it into so many pieces that each one'll be smaller than a person!"

"I don't understand how that thing flies," Reimu decided, ending that train of thought. "There's no way that's physically possible!"

"Ignoring the fact that we're flyin' right now, ze."

"Shut up, Marisa!"

"Guys?" asked Keine. "Not to interrupt your incredibly important conversation… but is that who I think it is flying around that thing?"

Reimu and Marisa turned away from each other and looked ahead, and both lost all color.

"She's… still taking pictures at a time like this," Reimu moaned.

"Shameimaru'll never change, da ze," Marisa agreed.

Indeed, Aya Shameimaru zipped all around the floating behemoth, taking as many pictures as she could.

"She's going to get herself killed."

…

Abathur couldn't help but be confused at the strange girl flying around the Leviathan. She appeared to be a Terran, except for the large crow wings on her back and speed rivaling the fastest Protoss scouts. She appeared to have a _camera_, of all things, and was taking pictures of the Leviathan from all angles, with complete disregard for her own safety.

And then, Abathur remembered.

Kerrigan had described the Youkai as humanoid. Humanoids were creatures in the shape of Terrans.

The Evolution Master realized that the girl before him was a Youkai.

And he knew what his job was.

"Releasing Mutalisks," he said. "Collect essence of female Youkai."

And with his command, the three Mutalisks sent with him flew out the "airlock" of the Leviathan.

…

When three winged creatures came out of a hole in the side of the behemoth, Reimu's panic increased.

"_That thing has_ **_other creatures inside of it?!_**" she shouted. "_What the hell is that thing?!_"

What made her blood truly boil was that the creatures were headed for Aya.

"Oh, no, oh nonono…" Reimu grimaced. "Shameimaru!"

Reimu increased her speed tenfold, going faster than she had ever gone before. Before long, she had knocked Aya out of the way, and the pair rammed into the side of the creature.

"Aya, what the hell are you doing?!" Reimu shouted. "Do you not understand the gravity of the situation at hand?!"

"Ayayayaya!" Aya grimaced in pain. "That hurt, Reimu! You pushed me too hard- my side'll be bruised for a week!"

"Answer the damn question!" Reimu snapped. "I don't have time for games!"

"I was taking pictures, of course!" Aya grinned. "My latest headline- _Weird thing appears over Human Village! Could this be the work of the Gap-Hag?_"

"There's a time and a place, Aya!" Reimu snapped. She pulled Aya out of the way as one of the three-winged creatures shot some sort of green projectile at them- but to Reimu's horror, it sliced a small gash in the creature before bouncing back at them. She dodged again, but it harmlessly bounced off of a spike before zooming back at them.

"Ricocheting bullets?!" Reimu cried in outrage. "No! I don't have time for this!"

She shot a yin-yang orb at the projectile, destroying it. However, all three of the winged creatures fired them at once.

"Damn!" she shouted, flying out of the way. "Aya, get the hell out of here! You're hurt!"

"I'm still the fastest thing in Gensokyo!" Aya boasted. "I'm fine!"

"Alright, fine, but your first priority is your safety, not your pictures! Got it?!" Reimu groaned. She was going to lose her voice from shouting this much, she could tell.

"Reimu, you've never gone that fast before! Ever!" Marisa shouted as she got closer. "You were really worried about Aya, eh?"

"I would've done the same if it were anyone else in that position," Reimu sighed. "I don't want anyone to get hurt by this thing, or the things that come out of it. And seeing other stuff come out of it put me into panic-mode. Fear can put your body into overdrive, you know?"

"The chemical that allows you to perform great feats when scared is called Adrenaline," Keine commented. Everyone turned to stare at her. "What? I'm a teacher. I thought Reimu should know."

"Hmmm…" hummed Aya. "I know! I can distract it by flying around and taking pictures, while you guys bombard it with Danmaku!"

"You just wanna take more pictures of it, ze," muttered Marisa.

"Even so, it's the best plan we've got," Reimu sighed. "Aya, don't get yourself killed out there."

"Won't do!" Aya saluted, flying off.

"Alright, you two," Reimu grimaced. "Let's take this thing down. Except, you know, not literally."

"Way to kill the mood, Reimu," groaned Marisa.

…

Abathur was slightly alarmed. When he tried to attack the Youkai girl, another one came up and actually destroyed a Glaive Wurm. Then, when she retreated, two more arrived. Were none of the Youkai male?

Whatever was going on, the mere fact that they could destroy Glaive Wurms was awfully telling of their power.

It was going to be tough collecting essence this way.

"Will take into account for future plans," he stated. "Mutalisks, not enough. Must take into account ground units. Must prepare drop-pods…"

Abathur had a lot of work ahead of him.

…

Alright, remember to read and review! Antagonist, signing off.


	4. Freeze

**Alright, it's time for another chapter. Here, the battle with the Leviathan will be wrapped up.**

**And to answer the recent reviews:**

**Dead Pann:**

**When I first heard the term mini leviathan, I thought it would be about the size of a man's face. Which would be adorable.**

**Drop pods? Uh-oh.**

**If Kerrigan can see through the eyes of the Zerg, than that means she can see Gensokyo, right?**

**- That would be incredibly adorable, yes. And yes, uh-oh to the drop pods. And to answer your question, no, she can't. Normally, she can see through the eyes of any Zerg under her control. However,****_Kerrigan hasn't been born yet_****. Remember, the Xel'Naga portal sent Abathur back in time a few centuries in order to work right. He's in 21st century Gensokyo, not 26th. Dehaka is the only member of Kerrigan's crew who has even been****_born_****yet at this time, and the Hakurei Barrier protects from the Overmind's influence. Since Abathur is the most individualistic Zerg around, the Zerg are all controlled by him, rather than Kerrigan.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

"Heehee! Hahah!" Aya laughed. "It's five thousand years too early for you to hit me!"

The creatures appeared unfazed at the taunting, given that they were mindless animals. They just continued to fire projectile after projectile at her. They weren't that challenging to dodge- sure, they ricocheted, but there weren't that many of them. She was used to dodging massive waves of Danmaku, not groups of living projectiles that ricocheted a few times before dying.

As Aya dodged the projectiles, Reimu snuck up behind one of the creatures and unleashed a spellcard.

"Treasure Sign 'Dancing Yin-Yang Orbs'!" she shouted, blasting four Yin-Yang orbs into the creature. The attack threw the creature into the side of the behemoth, and both creatures visibly felt it. The creature, weakened, used the last of its strength to fly back into the hole it came from.

The other two flew farther away, flying above the behemoth. Reimu wondered what they were going over there for, when another thing came out of the behemoth.

It looked like some sort of squid, and it shot out of the monstrous creature down at the town. Was it some sort of projectile?! She turned to look at Marisa, and pointed at the weird squid-like thing, indicating that she should go after it.

Marisa saluted with a grin, and pulled out the mini-Hakkero. She flew down to match the speed of it, and started muttering the words of the spell to it, tenderly.

"And now… to unleash my annihilation of love!" she shouted. "Love Sign 'Master Spark'!"

And so, Marisa unleashed a Master Spark. A Master Spark that missed completely, as the squid-like thing increased in speed and hit the ground.

…

Abathur was shocked.

What _were_those things? The red one unleashed four of those balls from earlier, and that was enough to put a Mutalisk out of commission immediately. And while the Drop Pod managed to miss it, the black one released a laser that was remarkably similar to Protoss Void Ray technologies. That would have instantly incinerated his Zerglings! Zerglings were no match for Void Rays!

These 'Youkai' had extreme powers despite looking like Terrans. Void Ray technology? Flying with no visible means of propulsion? Instantly decapacitating Mutalisks?

They were like Protoss in Terran form. In the Protoss community, these would all be Templar! And they were only the first four he ran into! What kind of power did these Youkai have?! And what made Kerrigan think that thirteen warriors and the Evolution Master would be enough Zerg to take them down?!

Abathur would have brought a hand to his temple if he had a temple. He was going to die. He needed to make the best use of his resources possible.

As soon as the drop pod landed, he directed his Zerglings to one spot. The fourth Youkai, the one who hadn't done anything yet, immediately headed at them… and punched. That was unexpected.

The Zergling in question was thrown across the street, hitting a building. The fourth one looked incredibly angry.

So, in his defense, he had all four of the ones remaining jump at her.

…

"Keine!" Marisa yelled, throwing Keine out of the way. "Those things are scary!"

"They landed in my village, Kirisame!" Keine snapped. "I'm supposed to be the village's _protector_! The fact that they're scary is just more reason to fight back! I don't want anyone to get hurt!"

While they argued, the five creatures regrouped, and pounced on the pair.

"Augh!" yelled Marisa.

"Ah!" yelped Keine.

And the creatures were ready to attack. Marisa, in an impressive display of bravado, punched the creature in the face, knocking it to the side with a yelp. She continued to wrestle with the creature, as Keine took the smarter route and blasted their faces with Danmaku. The tables had turned once again, and this time in their favor!

However, up in the air, things weren't going so well.

They weren't going so well because a third variety of creature had appeared.

It crawled out of the hole and used its scythe-like claws to climb up to the top of the behemoth, from where it shot spikes at people. The spikes mostly missed, fortunately, but the one that _did_ hit hit Reimu right in the leg, sinking deep into her right thigh.

"Aurgh!" Reimu groaned in pain. Whatever that thing was, it was tough.

"Reimu!" Aya winced. "Man, that looks like it hurts!"

"You think!?" shouted Reimu, blood dripping down her leg. "This is excruciating!"

Aya winced harder at the mention of the word. "Maybe you should rest. I doubt-"

"_I can handle this!_" screamed Reimu. "Don't make me hurt you!"

Aya sighed. "It's your leg! Don't blame me if you end up with permanent damage!"

Of course, Aya said all this while continuing to dodge spikes.

"I've got a handle on the situation."

…

Abathur felt ashamed. He wasn't fit to control the hive mind.

When Kerrigan used that Hydralisk, it was like a sniper. It hit the vital points of every target it found, disabling them in one shot.

When Abathur used it, he just got spikes everywhere, with _one_ spike in somebody's thigh.

Of course, this did come with some good news, too.

He knew now that they weren't indestructible. With enough work, he could take the Youkai down. Maybe Kerrigan only sending him thirteen warriors wasn't such a bad thing, after all. He hadn't even brought out the Ultralisk yet!

Now, he hoped he wouldn't have to do so at all.

…

Marisa continued to wrestle the one creature, as Keine kept the other four away with Danmaku. Reimu and Aya continued to dodge the spines and ricocheting projectiles, as Reimu throw Danmaku to destroy them.

However, as tough as they were, the Zerg had the advantage in numbers. The sun was beginning to set, giving the rather scary battle a beautiful background. The contrast between the sunset and people panicking to get out of the way was rather disconcerting, from Reimu's point of view. The struggle was only beginning, and here people were getting hurt, possibly permanently.

Until a previously unheard voice made everything, even the creatures, drop what they were doing.

"STOOOOOP!" shouted a familiar, childish voice.

"Cirno!?" Reimu cried. Cirno was floating right in front of the Behemoth's face. "Get out of there! It's too dangerous for you!"

Despite Reimu's protests, the flying creatures were only flying in place and staring. The creature on top of the behemoth just stopped, and the creatures crawling around down below let up on their attack, and stared at Cirno along with their aggressors.

"Why is everybody fighting?!" Cirno yelled. "Nobody even tried talking to it! It might just be curious! It might not understand that what it's doing is wrong!"

Reimu had to admit, Cirno brought up a good point. None of the creatures had talked, they could just be animals trying to defend themselves. What was going on here?

…

"Oh, my~" Yukari Yakumo said, watching the battle through a gap. "This is getting interesting."

…

Abathur listened to the one flying in front of it. This fifth Youkai seemed a lot weaker than the others. He could easily kill her and take her essence… but for some reason, he felt compelled not to.

"...Will attempt communication," he decided. "Could lead to better collection."

And so, he crawled over to the airlock.

…

Once outside, Abathur realized how warm it was. The Leviathan was cooled on the inside. He didn't have to worry about heat.

Still, it took him a lot of effort and help from the Hydralisk to get onto the top of the Leviathan. He wasn't going to pull that stunt again anytime soon.

In any case, the black one and the fourth one had rejoined the other two.

"...A fourth creature?" asked the red one.

"Abathur," he answered. "Evolution Master of the Swarm. Wish to talk to the small one."

After looking amongst themselves for a minute, the small child in blue flew over to him.

"I'm Cirno," she introduced. "Nice to meetcha Abathur. You talk funny."

Abathur was taken aback. Nobody had ever commented on his speech before. Was it really that strange?

"Strange," he decided. "Not necessarily bad thing. Wish to… make peace. Apologize for previous actions."

What was he doing? He was here to collect essence, not make friends! He already had friends! The Zerg on the Leviathan! They were enough!

"Apology accepted!" Cirno giggled. "You didn't really hurt anybody, 'cept for Reimu, and I think Eirin-sensei can fix that right up."

"I wouldn't be so sure," the red one grumbled. The black one lightly pushed her shoulder with a frown on her face.

"Cirno, I don't think you should trust him…" the fourth one warned. "The first thing he did was attack Aya, and he looks like a giant bug…"

"It'll be fine," the black one grinned. "You gotta stop worryin' so much, Keine! If he wanted to hurt us, I'm pretty sure he would've by now."

"Black one, correct," Abathur responded. "Have not even revealed all Zerg warriors. One of them, most powerful and durable."

"Zerg?" the first one asked. "Oh, by the way! I'm Aya Shameimaru, head reporter of the Bunbunmaru newspaper! Would you be so kind as to give me an interview later?"

Abathur simply turned and stared for a moment before answering, "Zerg Swarm, powerful race. Has Purity of Essence, evolves rapidly. Am in charge of their evolution."

Why was he giving them everything he knew? They were his enemies!

"Interesting!" Aya noted, jotting that down on a notepad. "I'll ask you in more detail in the interview. Hey, maybe I can help you get situated!"

"Ignoring the pesky reporter," the red one cut in. "The rest of us should introduce ourselves, as well. Cirno's an ice fairy, so she doesn't do anything but prank everyone. I'm Reimu Hakurei, the Shrine Maiden of the Hakurei Shrine. That's Marisa Kirisame, the Ordinary Human Magician, and that's Keine Kamishirasawa, the teacher and protector of the Human Village."

Alarm bells went off in Abathur's head.

"Human?" Abathur asked. "Assumed you were all Youkai."

"Huh?" asked Marisa, who then burst into hysterics. "Us? Youkai?! Hahaha!"

"What she means to say is, Aya's a Youkai, and Keine's a half-Youkai, but Cirno's a fairy, and Marisa and I are humans," Reimu explained.

"...Interesting," he replied. "Was unaware that humans were present. Was told that Gensokyo is home to Youkai."

"Yeah, well, it is," Reimu sighed. "Aside from me and Marisa, you'd be hard-pressed to find any humans that live outside the village."

"Hmm…" Abathur contemplated. "Interesting. However, is late. Might want to head down and rejoin civilization."

The others all nodded, and the Mutalisks and Hydralisk re-entered the Leviathan. The Leviathan descended, Abathur and Cirno riding on it as the other four followed.

"By the way, Abathur," Cirno piped up. "What kinda Youkai are you, anyway?"

"Not a Youkai," Abathur responded plainly. "Zerg. From Koprulu Sector… current year?" he asked.

"2013," Reimu responded.

"From Koprulu Sector five hundred years into future, then," he responded in kind.

"Cool!" Cirno grinned. "You're an outsider from the future, then!"

Abathur looked down to find Cirno latched onto his side.

"...Alien, too," he added. "Koprulu Sector, not on Earth. Several light-years away."

"You're gonna have to tell me all about how you got here later on, then," Keine said, almost as if it were a command.

"Perhaps," said Abathur. "Perhaps."

…

"Mokou!" one little girl smiled. "Will you do my hair?"

"Why haven't your parents picked ya up, yet?" asked Fujiwara No Mokou in response. "It's gettin' late.

"My parents always work late! Kamishirasawa-sensei watches me until then!" she giggled. "But you're way cooler, Mokou!"

Mokou sighed.

_Keine…_ she thought. _Please get back here soon! This kid's gonna drive me nuts!_

…

I included that bit at the end as a sort of epilogue to the first arc. After all, what _did_ happen to Mokou after Keine found her?

Anyways, read and review! I appreciate it!


	5. Interview with the Evolution Master

**Now, before we get back into the swing of things, have a brief intermission- Interview with the Evolution Master. Of course, it's an article from the Bunbunmaru, since Abathur eventually broke down and gave Aya that interview.**

**So, without further ado (or any reviews this time), let's get on with the story!**

…

_Giant Monster appears over the Human Village- What is it?_

by Aya Shameimaru

Yesterday was a hectic day for everyone in and around the Human Village, after a strange, flying beast (now known to be called a Leviathan) appeared in the sky above town. Questions commonly asked included, "What is that supposed to be?" "Oh my god, will that thing kill me?" and "Can I eat it?"

The Leviathan, who has being controlled psychically, contained twelve other creatures- three smaller flying creatures called Mutalisks, five smaller groundlocked creatures called Zerglings, one smaller creature that climbed on top of it called a Hydralisk, two groundlocked creatures that never left during the altercation called Roaches, and one last groundlocked creature that psychically controlled all of the others, named Abathur. Another large groundlocked creature, called an Ultralisk, was hiding underground in the Forest of Magic at the time, though it has since been relocated to the mountains.

When it first arrived, local schoolteacher Keine Kamishirasawa rushed to warn incident-resolvers Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame. After meeting up with yours truly, who was taking the very pictures seen in this article, miss Hakurei proceeded to aggress the Leviathan despite it not actually having done anything yet.

After almost an hour of fighting, local ice fairy Cirno showed up and, to everyone's surprise, saved the day by proposing communication with the Leviathan, as well as chewing out miss Hakurei for her misconduct.

The creature known as Abathur then exited the Leviathan, and peace was made between the two parties, ending the battle now known as the Human Village Incident.

After much begging from him, I agreed to let Abathur have an interview with me.

**Me:** So, Abby, what exactly are you?

**Abathur:** Evol- _Abby?_

**M:** It's a nickname! Get used to it! Anyways, what are you?

**A:** …Evolution Master of the Swarm. Created with the essence of hundreds of creatures, specifically designed to regulate Swarm evolution.

**M:** Uh-huh. And what, pray tell, is essence?

**A:** Genetic material. Can be collected from various creatures. Main reason for being here.

**M:** Ah, got it. So, what is this _Swarm_?

**A:** Zerg Swarm has purity of essence. Has multi-purpose larvae, can rapidly morph into other Zerg creatures. Includes Leviathan, Zerglings, and other Zerg creatures.

**M:** So, does that include you?

**A: **Incorrect. One of a kind creature. Cannot be replaced. Mission is to be carried out quickly in order to return to the Swarm.

**M:** Aw, I hoped you'd stick around longer.

**A:** Total length of mission unknown. Could be here for years.

**M:** Well, that's good news!

**A:** ...Perhaps.

**M:** Well, continuing on, what does being the Evolution Master of the Swarm entail? What is regulating evolution?

**A:** Gather essence. Spin strands and sequences, improve Swarm efficiency. Seek Perfection in all things.

**M: **So, the Zerg are perfect?

**A:** Incorrect. Perfection is goal. Constantly moving. Can chase, never catch. Zerg will never be perfect. Zerg will evolve forever.

**M:** Got it. So, you're like some sort of genetic scientist, then?

**A:** ...Description not entirely inaccurate.

**M:** Alright, then. You say you were specifically designed. Who created you?

**A:** Zerg Overmind, original leader of Zerg hive mind. Has since been replaced by Queen of Blades, Sarah Louise Kerrigan. Kerrigan then succeeded as ruler by herself.

**M:** She was succeeded by herself? How does that work?

**A:** Queen of Blades was tampered with mentally. Lost all sense of morality. Had her original personality restored to her. Not much better. Has sense of morality, unlike previous self; ignores it, however.

**M:** So, what you're saying is that before, she didn't know the difference between good and evil, and now she knows, but is evil anyways and doesn't care?

**A:** ...Accurate description.

**M:** Well, let's hope she never comes here, then. Now, onto the question on everyone's mind- why do you talk so funny?

**A:** Do not talk funny.

**M:** Sure you don't. What's with your appearance [see included picture on page 9]?

**A:** Was specifically designed to guide Zerg evolution. Grasper limbs designed with care. Your grasper limbs, poorly designed.

**M:** You mean my arms? How?

**A:** Not strong enough. Not dexterous enough.

**M:** Your arms don't look very strong, either.

**A:** Deceptive appearance.

**M:** Well, what about the rest of you? You don't seem to have legs.

**A:** Was designed to spend entire life in Evolution Pit. Not designed for rough terrain. Evolution Pit, dark, slimy place. Lizard bottom half better suited to that environment.

**M:** Ooh. And what's with those glowing green sacks? And that glowing green slit you have where your mouth should be?

**A:** Sacks contain essence, previously used and otherwise. Mouth, primarily intended to consume essence.

**M:** Ew. No offense.

**A:** None taken. Was not designed to be pretty or hygienic.

**M:** I can tell. Green fluid comes out of your mouth every few minutes.

**A:** Side effect of speaking.

**M:** Okay. And the carapace?

**A:** Designed to protect essence sacks from harm. Evolution Pit, extreme environment occasionally.

**M:** Interesting! Now, one last question- are you seeing anyone right now? I can think of a few people in Gensokyo with strange tastes.

**A:** Currently perceiving you.

**M: **I'll take that as a no. Alright, this is Aya Shameimaru, with Bunbunmaru news! See you next week!

…

"Heheheh," a childish voice laughed in the darkness. "This is interesting. A newcomer in Gensokyo, huh?~ Well, I'll have to meet them. Sakuya."

"Yes, Mistress?" the maid asked.

"I want to meet this 'Abathur,' hopefully as soon as possible. Give him an invitation for dinner at the mansion."

"Certainly, Mistress," the maid responded, leaving to go write the invitation in question.

Remilia Scarlet rested her cheek on her fist, leaning in her chair.

"Let's see what the Swarm has to offer."

…

And our first intermission is over! Now, our second arc begins. Remember to review!

Also, keep in mind when reviewing: I appreciate simple praise, it's very flattering, but I will not address them in the story proper. However, I will address questions asked and criticisms made.

Onto the next chapter!


	6. Invitation to the Vampire's Lair

**We now return to our regularly scheduled programming, **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**. Let's continue on with our story, shall we?**

**But first: reviews.**

**Dead Pann (hello again!):**

**Well. Interesting way to skip through a few scenes I suppose.**

**Remilia will be a little disappointed (and grossed out) by the Swarm. Not all of Zerg are there after all. I'm not sure what she's expecting. She probably didn't see page 9 and stopped reading when the interview was over.**

**It should mentioned that Hieda no Akyuu does interviews too. Although she would ask different and much more complex questions with longer answers.**

**Will one of the Zerglings talk? It could be like the Darkling from Darkness II.**

**-It signals that the first arc has ended and the second arc is beginning. All arcs longer than two chapters will be separated by an Intermission, though they won't all be Bunbunmaru articles. In fact, I'm planning for the next one to be Abathur explaining the Zerg to Team Nineball. Normal Zerglings don't talk, period. However, Zerglings that **_**aren't **_**normal… Finally, that wasn't mentioned because, except for the ending, the entire chapter was a Bunbunmaru interview. Aya had no reason to talk about Akyuu's interviews. As for Remilia's reaction… just wait.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur was pleased. His 'invasion' of Gensokyo was going well, even if it wasn't really an invasion anymore. The Leviathan had found a home in the skies, and he could now easily consider it a base of operations.

Aya Shameimaru and Cirno the ice fairy frequently visited, for reasons he could not understand. Since the Incident, he had only seen Keine once, running into her while he was exploring the Village, and he had only seen Marisa flying around all over the place. He had not had any contact with Reimu since the Incident, even though he knew where she lived.

However, he hadn't met very many other people since the incident. Cirno introduced him to her friends (the one named Wriggle Nightbug took a particular shine to him, likely due to them both being able to control insectoid creatures), and he met another Tengu reporter, Hatate Himekaidou, who wanted to get a better article on the incident than Aya. He had met nobody else, wanting to establish a foothold before actually commencing his invasion by friendliness.

However, while he was arranging the best places for his Zerg guards to be, someone suddenly just _appeared_ next to him.

"..." the person stared.

"...State purpose," Abathur commanded. He was slightly disturbed by the girl's ability to just appear on the ship.

"Are you Abathur?" she asked.

"Correct," he responded. "State purpose."

"I'm Sakuya Izayoi," she responded. "Head Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. My mistress, Remilia Scarlet, wishes to invite you to the Mansion for supper and tea. She wishes to get to know you better, as she does with all newcomers. If you would join us, here is the official invitation. Use it to get past the guard- she can be rather fierce…"

She handed him an envelope, and before he could ask her anything else, she disappeared again.

"...Interesting individual," he decided, and opened the letter.

…

_Evolution Master Abathur,_

_We at the Scarlet Devil Mansion would like to invite you to have supper with us on the day of July 1st, 2013, followed by tea, in order to better communications between us and the Swarm. You may bring guests, if you feel it necessary, although from what we hear the Swarm is largely comprised of mindless animals to be controlled by others. The Scarlet Devil Mansion has no current address, but is mostly red and visible from the Misty Lake. We will be waiting._

_Chief Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion,_

_Sakuya Izayoi_

…

"Huh?" Reimu asked. "She waited this long to invite you?"

Abathur finally visited the Hakurei Shrine upon receiving his letter, since Reimu likely knew what the best course of action regarding the teleporting girl was.

"Do not understand," Abathur said. "Usually more swift?"

"Yeah, she is," Reimu sighed. "Usually, when you first show up, she's there within two days to greet you."

"...Interesting," Abathur commented. "Safe to be around?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Reimu grimaced in annoyance. "Remilia's not… _evil_, per se, much as she would have you believe, but she's… pragmatic. She'll do anything to get what she wants, and, well, what she wants isn't generally that bad anyways. If she invites you over, it's generally considered a lot safer to take her up on her offer, since it means that she wants you around, and if you don't come, she'll have Sakuya kidnap you."

"July first, current date, correct?" asked Abathur.

"Yeah," confirmed Reimu. "First of July, 2013. Which means that it's tonight. Want me to come with you? Remilia's a little… _tamer_ around me, and I can warn you about anything she might pull. She did say you could have guests, after all."

"Most agreeable," Abathur agreed. "Slightly worried. Maid teleports."

"Oh, Sakuya?" asked Reimu. "She's not teleporting, she's just stopping time."

"Stopping time, more impressive ability than teleporting," Abathur narrowed his eyes. "Human or Youkai?"

"She's a human, most definitely," answered Reimu. "The whole stopping time thing is because of this weird clock that she has called the Lunar Dial. I don't really know how it works, but it allows her to move around while everyone else is frozen."

"Advanced technology," Abathur sighed. "More advanced than Protoss technology. Rivals the Xel'Naga."

"What are the Protoss and Xel'Naga, anyways?" asked Reimu.

"Protoss, other species," answered Abathur, looking back down to read the letter again. "Have psionic abilities, advanced technology. Have teleportation technology, though limited. Xel'Naga, dead species, created Protoss and Zerg."

"Huh. That's… weird," Reimu decided. "Anyways-"

"I wanna join you, too!" shouted a third, all-too familiar voice. Reimu and Abathur turned just in time for Cirno to tackle-hug Abathur to the ground. When Abathur looked at her, she simply grinned at him.

"Cirno, you blew our cover!" a fourth voice complained, and Aya Shameimaru walked out of a nearby bush. "We were gonna wait and follow them to the mansion!"

"But I don't _wanna_ wait!" Cirno complained. "Besides, sneaking is no fun! I am the Strongest! I don't wait!"

"Would you care to tell me why you were going to follow us?" Reimu asked. "It's generally considered creepy to stalk people."

"Hey! I'm not a stalker!" Aya shouted. "Hmph! As if I don't already have enough people accusing me of stalkery, you go ahead and do it, too!"

"If enough people are calling you one, maybe it's your fault," Reimu deadpanned.

"Well, whatever!" Aya grinned. "Abathur, we can come to the mansion with you, too, right?"

Abathur thought for a moment, and to his dismay, he realized that he couldn't really refuse them.

"Allowing it," he answered. "Can come."

"Yippee!~" Aya jumped up. "I haven't been inside the SDM in months!"

"SDM?" asked Abathur.

"It's an acronym for Scarlet Devil Mansion," Reimu sighed. "Are you sure about this?"

"Sure," Abathur confirmed. "Cannot refuse them."

"Let's go, then!" Cirno giggled.

"Wait, I was about to say something before you all interrupted," Reimu sighed. "Remilia, Sakuya, and the gate guard aren't the only ones living at the mansion. There's also a Magician and her demonic Familiar living there, and… a creature. It's insanely powerful, and insanely… well, insane. You're going to want to stay out of the basement."

"Gratitude," Abathur thanked. "Must go. Almost six."

"Yeah, we should probably head over there," Reimu sighed. "Let's move out!"

…

Meiling Hong was proud of herself. She had successfully defended the Scarlet Devil Mansion for generations, with only a few failures under her belt. And even then, one of those failures ended in the Mansion acquiring its most useful employee, and another ended in Remilia finding something new to obsess over.

However, while the Mansion staff appreciated her, few others did. She didn't lose often, and only took one afternoon nap a day, but everyone in Gensokyo was convinced, ever since the Scarlet Mist Incident, that she was a narcoleptic slacker who didn't know how to do her job.

But it didn't matter to her. Everyone at the Mansion appreciated her work, and she spent quite a bit of time inside the mansion itself, when it wasn't her shift.

Ah, that's right, her shift was nearly over. It was almost time to head back inside.

Meiling cast a suspicious glance around her, as if expecting an attack at any moment.

And she was right!

That Tengu reporter was here for another beating, was she!? Well, she'd show her! Maybe next time she'll remember not to try and break in while Meiling was on-duty!

"Heya, Meiling!" Aya greeted. "Long time no-"

She was cut off by Meiling punching her in the nose.

"Ayayayaya!" she cried. "What was that for?!"

"Intruding on the property of Mistress Scarlet!" Meiling shouted, grabbing Aya by the collar. "You do this practically all the time!"

"No, I don't!" Aya countered. After thinking for a moment, she corrected with, "No, I'm not! I'm a guest this time!"

"Where's your proof?!" Meiling growled.

"Aya, you blundering idiot!" yelled another voice, and Meiling turned to see Reimu Hakurei flying over. Cirno was following her, and she herself was carrying… some kind of reptile, she thought. Then she remembered the last Bunbunmaru paper, which she read after Remilia discarded it.

"Hold on a second…" Meiling thought, setting down Aya. "You're Abathur, aren't you?"

"Correct," the creature answered, with an unsettling, echoing voice. "Evolution Master of the Swarm. Was invited here by Sakuya Izayoi. Proof."

Abathur held out a letter. Meiling read it, and found that it was signed with Sakuya's own signature and stamped with Remilia's VIP stamp.

"O-oh. Uh, go on ahead, then," she said, somewhat embarrassed. "Are you sure you wanna let Shameimaru in?"

"I already asked him," Reimu grumbled. "We can come in, right?"

"Well, Shameimaru and the ice fairy are with Abathur and you, Abathur's been invited, and you're always welcome, per Remilia's orders. So, yeah," Meiling answered. "Much as I don't wanna let Aya in."

"Thank you," Reimu smiled. "You really are good at your job, you know."

"Heh, I try!" Meiling grinned, giving a 'Victory' sign.

Reimu went on ahead, and the strange trio followed her.

"What nice people. When you forget Aya's with them, of course... Ah, well, better go close the gate," Meiling commented.

…

Abathur marveled at the architecture of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Part of it was scientific curiosity- the mansion was somehow bigger on the inside than out. The other part was more emotional- it reminded him of the interior of the Leviathan.

"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The mistress awaits," said Sakuya, who appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah, Sakuya," Reimu responded. "Nice night, isn't it? Perfect for dinner."

"Yes, it is," Sakuya smiled in return. "The Mistress will be happy to know that you're here."

"I know," Reimu sighed. "I get the feeling that there's something I don't know, but… ah, well. I'll deal with that later."

Sakuya smirked. "There's lots you don't know about the Mistress's feelings."

Abathur watched the exchange between the two women, a conversation that implied mutual trust and respect. Much like the relationships he didn't have.

"Well, we're here for dinner, right? Let's go to the dining room!" Aya suggested with a grin. Cirno jumped up and down.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm hungry!" Cirno grinned. "What's for dinner?"

"You will see, little ice fairy," Sakuya smiled. "And it is nice to meet you again, Evolution Master Abathur."

"Abathur, good enough," he stated. "Evolution Master, job description, not title."

"Very well, then, Abathur," Sakuya returned. "If you are all ready, we shall head to the dining hall. Let's see what kind of relationship this night brings, shall we?"

…

Alright, everyone! That's the end of Chapter Six (Five if you don't count the Intermissions as chapters). Remember to review!


	7. The Scarlet Devil

**Hello and welcome back to **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**! We continue with our previously initiated story where Abathur has been invited to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and brought Cirno, Reimu, and Aya with him. What's going to happen when he actually meets Remilia? Also, it becomes increasingly evident in this chapter that I use the word 'Responded' a lot. That's one of my biggest flaws as a writer, from my point of view.**

**Review time:**

**Dead Pann:**

**Ah. When I mentioned Akyuu's interviews, I meant that as another option for your intermissions. **

**Remilia thinks she can control the Swarm. Yeah, that's not gonna happen, at least not directly.**

**-Oh, that. Yeah, don't worry, that'll happen eventually. Akyuu does need material, and Abathur does need to meet people. As for Remilia controlling the Swarm- who knows? She does have manipulation of Fate, and if she were somehow infested… well, a Vampire with Manipulation of Fate has more power than a psychic human. Of course, it's never going to happen, but still. Food for thought.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur wasn't sure what he expected when he entered the dining room of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't what he got.

It was large, spectacularly so. In fact, the dining room alone was large enough to dwarf the outside of the mansion. The room was largely scarlet colored, which was, he supposed, natural for a place called the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but the ceiling was milky-white. Gold strips were placed along the ceiling and wallpaper, and the dining table at the center was large enough to seat a hundred. The wall to the left of the entrance was covered in four-story-high windows, and a chandelier that was easily the size of the Ultralisk hung from the ceiling.

"...Overcompensation," Abathur commented.

"Heh," Sakuya laughed. "Don't worry, we're just passing through. She just has this room to intimidate people and to hold banquets. The _real_ dining room, which she does her private business in, is to the right."

Sakuya indicated a door which was indeed to her right, before walking over and holding the door open.

This room was much more modest, but no less impressive. The table looked like it was fit to seat twelve people, as opposed to a hundred, and beyond the table, had more varied wallpaper. It was that kind of wallpaper where the lower half was different from the upper half- the upper half was scarlet red, again, and the lower half was striped, alternating between lighter and darker shades of green. There was a bookshelf next to a small window on one end, and a pair of more comfortable green chairs. On the other end of the room from the window, and the table, was a fireplace with a picture hung above it. The picture was of a grassy meadow, with a forest in the distance. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was a picture of Gensokyo.

And at the far end of the table, in a leather throne as opposed to the ordinary (though fancy) wooden chairs, was a young girl with blue hair and red eyes. Was this Remilia Scarlet?

"You must be Abathur," she smiled darkly. "And you've brought with you… Reimu!"

Upon speaking her name, the girl's dark smile quickly changed into a giddy one.

"Reimu! How nice to see you!" she grinned.

"It's nice to see you, too, Remilia," Reimu responded, confirming that this little girl was indeed Remilia Scarlet. "How has life treated you?"

"It's been alright, but life's never as full when you're not around!" Remilia praised, sitting forward in her chair. "Come; sit in the chair to my right!"

Abathur was somewhat confused and, to his further confusion, slightly offended. He was invited to discuss the relationship between the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Zerg Swarm, but Remilia's attention seemed to be focused entirely on Reimu.

"Heh," chuckled Aya. "She's cute, but she's never going succeed with that little crush of hers."

"Crush?" Abathur asked, and would have frowned if he could. "See nothing being crushed."

"It's a figure of speech," Aya elaborated. "She's kinda-sorta in love with Reimu. Except, it's not as extreme as love. A crush… it's like watered-down love, basically. When Remilia and Reimu get older, she'll either slowly get over it, or she'll actually fall in love with her. It's hard to tell at this point."

"...Interesting," Abathur responded. "Never heard of something like this before. Queen of Blades, in love with a Terran man. Yet, never heard of a crush."

"The leader of the Zerg, in love with a human?" Aya grinned. "That sounds like a scoop if I ever heard one!"

"Gensokyo's Residents, never heard of Queen of Blades," Abathur pointed out. "Meaningless to them."

"Urgh, you're right," Aya frowned. "I'll have to think of something else…

"Oh, yes!" Remilia spoke up, unintentionally ending Abathur and Aya's conversation. "You! Abathur! I wanted to meet you! Come, sit in the chair opposite Reimu, I wish to speak about the future of the relationship between our respective factions!"

Abathur slithered over to the chair, and simply stared at it.

"What's the matter?" Remilia asked.

"Cannot sit in chair," Abathur explained. "Body does not bend that way."

Remilia looked and him, and gasped.

"Goodness, you're right! You don't have legs!"

"Was mentioned in interview," Abathur deadpanned. "Have lower body of a lizard. Better suited to Evolution Pit environment."

"Oh, right," Remilia sighed. "I guess you can just, er, stand there."

And that Abathur did, moving the chair out of the way.

"Alright. The rest of you can take your seats wherever you please. I've called Patchy and Koakuma, and they're going to be joining us tonight. Ah, but leave the seat across from mine to Patchy. That's her favorite seat," Remilia explained.

At being told they could sit wherever they wanted, Aya sat next to Abathur, and Cirno to Reimu.

"Now," Remilia continued, her expression returning to the dark one she previously wore. "Where were we? Ah, yes. We were going to talk about the Scarlet-Swarm relationship, weren't we?"

"Correct," Abathur simply stared. "Was your idea."

"Right, right," Remilia smiled. "Now, I wish to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the Swarm- you scratch our back, we scratch yours."

"...Continue," said Abathur.

"Well, the Swarm sounds interesting, and seems to have good enough resources," Remilia explained. "We here at the Mansion also have valuable resources. I hear you're looking for DNA samples?"

Abathur perked up.

"Not necessarily Deoxyribonucleic acid. Different species, use different genetic material. Includes, but not limited to Deoxyribonucleic acid," he explained. "Essence, valuable in any case."

"That's good to know," Remilia grinned smugly. "Because Patchy's been alive for a long time, now, and she's collected a lot of stuff. It might have any genetic material you might need."

"From Youkai?" Abathur asked. Remilia blinked, her grin breaking.

"Well, er, no-"

"Do not require it," Abathur dismissed. "Mission is to collect Youkai essence."

"Oh," Remilia scowled. "I'll have to think of something else."

"Any essence, useful," Abathur pointed out. "Will definitely not be close to enough, but strands of hair, fingernail clippings- will also accept."

"Ew!" Cirno shouted, sticking her tongue out to the side. "You mean you're gonna eat hair and fingernails?"

"If necessary," answered Abathur.

"That's gross," Cirno made a disgusted face. "They're covered in germs!"

"Swarm, resistant to most known diseases," Abathur reassured. "Will be fine."

"Sorry- *huff*- for being late," wheezed a new voice. A girl was coming through a door, struggling to pull a cart behind her. Her purple hair matched her eyes, and she appeared to be wearing… pajamas. "This stuff… is really heavy!"

"Ah, Patchy!" Remilia grinned. "Don't worry about that- Abathur just told me he doesn't need it."

The girl, evidently Patchy, turned around and glared slightly at Remilia before plopping down in the chair at the end.

"So, I… hauled all those materials from the library for _nothing?!_" she yelled.

"Not nothing," Abathur responded. "Am here for Youkai essence- however, other essence could be useful. Can help me get that essence. Will take a look at it later."

Patchy turned to him.

"You… must be Abathur," she breathed. "I'm Patchouli Knowledge, librarian of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's a… pleasure…"

"Master!" called over a voice, and a redheaded girl flew in. She had two pairs of wings- one on her back and one on her head, oddly enough- and she wore what seemed to be office wear. She carried a strange, L-shaped stick. "Your inhaler!"

Patchouli quickly grabbed the stick, removed the cap, and placed her mouth on it, pressing a button on the top. After a few moments of breathing from the stick, she seemed to relax, and re-capped the stick.

"Excuse me," she apologized. "Pulling that cart took a lot out of me, and I'm already asthmatic. This is my Familiar, Koakuma."

The redhead, evidently Koakuma, turned to them, and blanched.

"I-I'm sorry for interrupting!" she apologized.

"No need to apologize," Remilia grinned. "You were only helping your Master. You're a good Familiar."

"Ah- thank you, Miss Remilia," Koakuma thanked, before moving to stand right behind Patchouli.

Patchouli's previous pained expression was replaced with a calmer, stoic one.

"Well, now, you say that you might have a use for them after all?" Patchouli asked. "They're all failed experiments and ingredients for spells that I never use. They're all already dead, of course."

"If genetic material is present," Abathur responded. "Could have use. Might, might not."

"I see," Patchouli replied. "I actually have a few questions. How does the Swarm's leadership work? You said that it's a hive mind, but you're obviously your own individual. That raises a lot of questions."

"Leader of Swarm, determines what Swarm does," Abathur answered. "Leader of Swarm has minor mind-control abilities of Brood Mothers, Cerebrates, other individualized Zerg. Cerebrates outdated, no longer used. Brood Mothers, Cerebrates, other individuals control all non-individualistic Zerg, though Brood Mothers and Cerebrates specifically designed for that purpose. Use of Overlords allows for easier control; Queen of Blades neglected to send one with me. Leader of Swarm also able to control all non-individuals, but usually prefers to work through Brood Mothers, Cerebrates."

"I see," Patchouli brought her hand to her chin. "So, all of the Zerg you have with you- all of the Zerg that participated in the Human Village Incident- they're all just extensions of your personality?"

"Correct," Abathur answered. "Were previously extensions of Brood Mother Zagara's personality, briefly extensions of Queen of Blades' personality during Battle that brought me here."

"Interesting," Patchouli noted. "It's really fascinating. Perhaps you could allow me to study the connection between you and your Zerg?"

"Psionic connection, easy enough to understand," Abathur replied instantly. "Study would not last long."

"That just makes it even better," she smiled slightly. "If it takes no time at all and rewards me with a lot of information, then it's completely worth it."

"Hey, Abby," Aya groaned. "Why didn't you say any of this in your interview!?"

"Did not ask," Abathur answered. "_Only_ answered questions that were asked. Did tell you that a psionic connection was necessary for Zerg to do anything."

"Yeah, well," Aya grumbled. "You still could have told me. That would be an amazing scoop!"

"My," Patchouli replied with a slight smile and a hand on her chin. "Is our little reporter getting jealous over my newfound knowledge of the Swarm?"

"Wh- no!" Aya yelled. "It's not like this is a competition or anything! I'm still the fastest in Gensokyo, the Pure and Honest Reporter!"

"Of course not," Patchouli said condescendingly. "You might, however, be jealous that people trust me with more information than they do you."

Aya blanched, and quieted down.

"Oh," Patchouli chuckled. "Looks like I hit it right on the mark."

"Enough," Remilia and Abathur said at the same time.

"Tengu reporter, done nothing to aggravate," Abathur stated.

"You're not usually this mean, Patchy," Remilia sighed. "What's up with you?"

"I nearly died trying to bring materials that won't be as useful as I was told, that's what's up," Patchouli growled.

"Wha- you're still on about that!?" Remilia cried. "I thought we were over that! And that thing had nothing to do with it, anyways!"

"Don't call me a thing!" Aya yelled.

"Everybody calm down!" Reimu shouted over the argument. "This is supposed to be a civilized dinner!"

"R-Reimu!" Remilia cried. "I'm sorry!"

"Do I hear a fight? I love fights."

All of the commotion instantly died down, and the occupants of the room slowly, without otherwise changing their positions, looked towards the door.

Standing in the middle of the doorway was a little girl. She held a mutilated teddy bear in one arm, and wore a red and white dress, not too unlike Reimu's. She was blonde, and her eyes were just as red as Remilia's. But what stood out the most weren't any of those things, but the two sticks jutting out from her back, both covered in dangling crystals.

"F-Flan!" Remilia laughed nervously. "Just, uh, go back to bed. Nobody's fighting. I promise. All that's going on in here is boring politics, you wouldn't be interested. Go find Sakuya, she can lead you to the bedroom. Nobody's fighting!"

Abathur was confused. He hadn't heard mention of a little girl, other than Remilia of course. He had been led to believe that there was a Vampire, her Human servant, the gate guard, a magician, her familiar, and… oh.

"Insane one?" he asked, glancing aside at Reimu for confirmation. Before she could answer, 'Flan' piped up.

"Was that an insult?" she asked, seemingly confused. "I _think_ it was… well, if it was, it's the perfect excuse to fight!"

And without waiting, she pounced at him.

…

And that's the end of Chapter 7! Next chapter- will Flandre utterly annihilate Abathur? Only time will tell. Okay, she probably won't, since he's the main character and I want this story to go on for a lot longer, but still.

See you next chapter!


	8. Taboo

**Thanks for reading **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**! And now, continuing on with Chapter 8! How will Abathur get out of the fight with Flandre? Will he escape unscathed? **

**Let's find out right now, especially since there are no reviews to answer this time.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

"Was that an insult?" 'Flan' asked, seemingly confused. "I _think_ it was… well, if it was, it's the perfect excuse to fight!"

And without waiting, she pounced at him.

And without waiting, his Roaches unburrowed and rammed into her, throwing her into the wall.

"Wait!" Remilia yelled. "Don't hurt Flan! She's dangerous, but she doesn't know any better!"

"Did… did not do that," Abathur responded, his voice oddly shaky. "Roaches… did that on their own."

How could Roaches do something like that? Roaches were designed to be controlled, not to act on their own! They were weak-minded non-individuals! They couldn't make decisions! And yet, even without Abathur telling them to, they quickly arose from their hiding place and protected him. Almost as if they were guard animals, rather than hive-minded killing machines.

"Ah! So those are the Roaches I've heard about?" Patchouli asked, seemingly calm throughout the event. "Fascinating creatures, although their behavior just now- and your reaction to it- completely invalidates your claims that they're extensions of your personality. Were you lying to me?"

"Not now, Path… Pac… Pactouli!" Cirno yelled, evidently having trouble with the Magician's name. "Flandre's still bored!"

She was more than bored, now, Abathur thought. As Flan(dre?) slowly got up, he could see the glare that pierced through his almost-nonexistent soul.

"That wasn't very nice…" she growled. "Toys are supposed to play nicely!"

Toy? Abathur wasn't a toy! He was the Evolution Master of the Swarm! He was almost offended!

"Taboo 'Cranberry Trap'!" Flandre yelled, and magical, purple bullets appeared all over the room, and flew right at him.

Abathur, in total fear, burrowed himself and his Roaches. While underground, he directed the Hydralisk to the top of the Leviathan once again, and had the Leviathan fly close enough that the Hydralisk could see Flandre, but not vice versa.

Seeing through the Hydralisk's eyes, he kept the Hydralisk's aim steady. He looked closer, akin to zooming in on a scope, and when he could see Flandre's head, he aimed the Hydralisk right to the right. He fired a Spine, and it zoomed all the way through, crashing through the window and landing embedded in the wall right next to Flandre. She ceased her attack in surprise, and Abathur continued to see through his own eyes, unburrowing as he did so.

"Could have hit you in head," he warned. "Did not due to value of your safety. Could easily do it again. Do not wish to hurt you. Cease attack."

"Not until you apologize!" she yelled, powering up for another spellcard. And then-

"Sorry," Abathur said. "Did not mean to insult you or hurt you. Completely accidental."

"I… huh?" Flandre asked.

"I don't think she was expecting that," Remilia smiled darkly. "She's surprised. Nobody's done that in a long time."

"I don't know how to react!" Flandre cried. "I-I- _AURGH!_"

She somehow seemed to be even angrier than before. This time, however, she was not angry at Abathur, but at her own confusion.

That, however, did not mean that she would not take it out on him.

"Taboo 'Lävatein'!" she shouted, and pulled out a… very strange-looking sword. Did that even work as a sword?

His questions were answered when Flandre swung it, releasing a laser beam that left a trail of red Danmaku. He burrowed himself again, and noticed something.

He had a little yellow hair stuck on him.

While underground, he plucked it off of himself. He might as well consume it and start analyzing while she's raising hell up there.

Once in his mouth, his eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

There was enough information in this single strand of hair to completely replicate the young girl in Zerg form. If he applied it to a strain of Zerg, the changes would be _immediate_.

After analyzing, he identified the single strand of Zerg that would accept the changes the best- the Ultralisk. And so, in the span of five seconds, he spun the Vampire sequences into the pre-existing Ultralisk sequences.

And he immediately lost contact with the Ultralisk.

No! That wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to get a powerful warrior, but now, it seemed as though the Ultralisk was dead! Was Youkai essence really that poisonous to Zerg?

An explosion sounded up above. That's right. There was still the issue of the Vampire girl attacking him. He once again looked through the eyes of the Hydralisk, and began to aim for Flandre again… only to instead notice movement below.

The Hydralisk looked down, and saw something strange.

It appeared to be a girl. Her hair was brown, and she had six small horns adorning the top of her head. She wore a frilly blouse, colored brown with slight hints of purple, and a miniskirt with similar coloration. On her back appeared to be two large wings that looked almost exactly like Kaiser Blades.

And she was headed right for the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Before Abathur could react, the girl flipped through the window, and into the room. Abathur returned to looking through his own eyes again and unburrowed, seeing the girl with his own eyes, now seeing that her eyes were as red as the two Vampires'. Flandre also ceased her attack out of, again, surprise.

"Do not harm the Evolution Master!" the new girl yelled. "His will is far beyond your comprehension!"

"Someone you know?" asked Aya, who was lying on the ground (likely to avoid Flandre's danmaku).

"Do not know individual," replied Abathur. "Will likely find out soon."

"Oh, really? Taboo 'Four of a Kind'!" Flandre yelled, splitting into four of her.

"Yeah, really! Zerg Sign 'Noxious Cloud'!" yelled the new girl, sending out a swarm of small, green Danmaku.

Zerg Sign? He had never heard of that particular kind of Danmaku before- not to mention that it was named after the Swarm…

The four Flandres fired bullets of varying colors in multiple directions, and the new girl flew around the room, beginning to fire a continuous stream of green Danmaku.

Abathur partially burrowed himself again and continued to watch. The new girl and Flandre continued to have a Danmaku battle for the next five minutes, until Flandre's three clones disappeared.

"Taboo 'Kagome Kagome'!" Flandre cried, and green Danmaku arranged themselves in a grid pattern about a foot above the table. Then, Flandre sent out multiple large yellow Danmaku, which sent the green Danmaku flying in varying directions, the green Danmaku seemingly getting out of the yellow ones' range.

The new girl dodged almost all of them, although a few managed to singe her outfit.

"Zerg Sign 'Kaiser Blade'!" she shouted.

Kaiser Blade? That was the weapon that the Ultralisk carried… the weapon that her wings appeared to be made out of… the girl who appeared just after he lost contact with the Ultralisk after applying new essence to it…

Oh.

This girl was somehow related to the Ultralisk. And he thinks he knows how.

In any case, white Danmaku appeared on the edges of the room, arranged into a pair of curved patterns not unlike the actual Kaiser Blades. Then, like the Kaiser Blades, the Danmaku patterns folded inwards, towards the center- and towards Flandre. Before she could do anything else, she was hit by the two 'blades' of Danmaku, and thrown to the floor. The new girl had, just barely, won the Danmaku fight.

Or, so it seemed. Once Flandre and the new girl were both on the ground, Flandre jumped back up again. However, she didn't seem… angry any more. Rather… she was excited.

"That was so much fun!" she giggled. "Let's play again sometime, weird nee-san!"

"Perhaps later. I need to go talk to my boss," the new girl chuckled. "You're certainly a little ball of energy and power, aint'cha? I certainly see where I get my power from."

Leaving Flandre to be confused by that last remark, the new girl wandered over to Abathur as everyone else slowly got up off of the floor. This was when he noticed that the table had been knocked on its side during the fight.

"Need a hand there, Evolution Master?" she asked, holding out a hand. Abathur waved a hand to signal that he was fine, and fully unburrowed.

"So, what's with you calling him boss?" asked Aya, stretching.

"Because he _is_ my boss, Miss Tengu Reporter," the new girl said. "Isn't that right, Evolution Master?"

"Correct," Abathur confirmed. "Ultralisk."

The Ultralisk broke out into a grin.

"You recognized me! I knew you would, Evolution Master! Haha!"

"Wait," said Reimu. "Ultralisk? I've _seen_ the Ultralisk. I helped you _move_ it. This girl is _not_ the Ultralisk. The Ultralisk was a giant Zerg death monster with blades on its arms. This girl just looks like an ordinary Youkai."

"Incorrect," Abathur explained. "During fight, found hair of Vampire on body. Consumed it, applied essence to Ultralisk strain. Only Ultralisk in area, this one. Vampire essence had profound effect on Ultralisk sequences. Completely rewrote genetic base, creating new strain… correct?"

"You're right, Evolution Master," the Ultralisk confirmed. "I've got a new name, now, though. Since I'm the first Youkai Zerg… my name is Vampire Ultralisk! Ultralisk bein' my family name, and Vampire being my given one, since I was born an Ultralisk and was given the Vampire stuff."

"That explains what you meant by, 'where you get your power from'!" Flandre giggled.

"Creation also increased intelligence," Abathur noted. "Explains why you became inaccessible upon application of sequences. No longer extension of my personality."

"Well, that's obvious," Vampire replied. "I don't do that weird leaving out words thing."

"Do _not_ leave out words," Abathur deadpanned.

"Ya kinda do!" Cirno yelled from across the room, holding onto Koakuma's head for whatever reason.

"Negligible," Abathur replied instantly. "Vampire."

"Which one?" Remilia and Flandre asked at the same time.

"One who invited me. Wish to say… partnership is agreeable," he answered. "Look forward to working with you in future."

Remilia grinned darkly. "I'll keep that in mind. Although, I'm somewhat disappointed that I didn't get to see the Ultralisk in action before Flandre became her mother."

Abathur would have blanched if he could. Was that really how Remilia saw it?

"Yeesh, I'm kidding," Remilia sighed, seeing the look on his face. "I'm not accusing you of anything. You just ate her hair and used it to turn that giant monster of yours into a girl."

"...That sounds strange when you explain it aloud," she continued.

"Zerg evolution, not always understandable to non-Zerg. Complicated subject. Sequences, not as simple as other species," Abathur admitted. "Why overcomplication of sequences is bad. Must be as simple as possible."

"Alright, then," Remilia sighed. "Well, as long as our alliance is in place and the damage to the dining room isn't _too_ bad, I'm fine. Say… what were you doing during the fight with Flandre?"

"Burrowing?" asked Abathur. "Zerg rapidly vibrate, digging Earth, drilling materials, snapping vegetation. Instantly travel underground. Can relocate to surface just as quickly, leave no evidence of initial geological destruction."

"That's even more fascinating," Patchouli spoke up. "How do you fix everything that was broken?"

"..." Abathur had no response.

"...You don't know, do you?" asked Patchouli.

"Did not design burrowing mechanism," Abathur admitted. "Existed before my creation."

"I think we've spent enough time here," Reimu sighed. "Your dining room is… trash?"

Just as she finished her sentence, the room was spotless again. The singe marks on the walls disappeared, the chairs were put back in order (except for Abathur's, which was moved out of the way), and the table was put back in an upright position.

Abathur turned to Remilia, and found that Sakuya was now standing right behind her.

"The benefits of having a time-travelling maid," Remilia grinned. "Let's get back to dinner, shall we?"

…

As Abathur walked through the Forest of Magic back to the Leviathan, Cirno played with Vampire Ultralisk, and Reimu stayed in the back, watching for anyone that might attack them. This time, the Roaches remained above ground, in order to ward off attackers. Aya stayed at the front with him.

"Hey, Abby," Aya asked.

"Hmm?" Abathur asked. For a creature with as much echo in their voice as him, the sound was very strange indeed.

"Thanks for defending me during dinner," she sighed. "I mean, from Patchouli's abuse. You didn't have to do that."

"Did not have to. Did," Abathur responded. "Is enough."

"It wasn't even that bad, compared to the other slander I've gotten," Aya chuckled.

"Were… upset," Abathur pointed out. "Did not enjoy friend's unhappiness."

Aya stopped, her mouth gaping. Abathur crawled a few feet further before stopping himself and turning around.

"Friend?" asked Aya.

"Correct," answered Abathur. "Friend."

Aya's features softened, and her gape turned into a smile, which then turned into a grin.

"Heh, you know it!" she laughed. "I'm the best friend a person can have! Come on!"

And with that, Aya ran on ahead.

"Cannot keep up!" Abathur shouted. "Wait!"

And so, Abathur struggled to catch up to Aya.

…

And so, our eighth chapter is over, and what an eventful chapter! We had a Danmaku battle, the introduction of one of the elements I've been waiting to introduce since the beginning, and Abathur even admitted that Aya was his friend. By the way, I had the biggest grin on my face while I was writing that exchange.

Also, with the end of our eighth chapter, and second arc with it, I should probably explain how long each arc was. Chapter one was the prologue, followed by the first arc (chapters 2-4), the first intermission (chapter 5) and finally, the second arc (chapters 6-8). We're going to have our second intermission, and then we'll start arc three, where we have Abathur: Incident Resolver!

See you next time, and remember to review!


	9. Chapter Nineball

**Alright, with the first two arcs over, it's time for the second Intermission chapter! Unlike the previous intermission chapter, which was formatted like a Newspaper article, this chapter is formatted largely in first person (except for the opening scenes and Team Nineball's reactions to the story). This one is still a bit of a breather, though, so it counts as an Intermission!**

**Also, three updates in one day, holy cow.**

**Now, onto our second Intermission, and our third arc!**

…

Abathur wasn't sure how he got roped into storytelling time, but he did.

He was just taking a walk along the outskirts of the Human Village, trying to find any Youkai willing to give up their essence, when Keine cornered him. Today was the day that she usually tutored Cirno and her friend Daiyousei, but she had an incredibly important job to do that day, and everybody else who she had asked at that point was busy. Abathur had tried to protest that he was, indeed, busy, she pointed out that the only essence he got was a strand of hair that he got on accident. In the end, the schoolteacher ended up physically dragging him to the meeting place, and told him that since she was going to be unable to teach, he should tell stories or something. When Cirno heard that particular bit of news, she instantly went and fetched the rest of her friends.

And so, that's how Abathur found himself in the middle of a clearing, in the middle of the Forest of Magic, surrounded by logs with childlike Youkai and Fairies sitting on them.

"C'mon, Abathur!" Wriggle grinned. "What kinda stories do you got?! I bet you have really good ones! Like the Zerg saving princesses from castles, or using the Zerg to take down corrupt governments!"

While Wriggle likely didn't see it, that sentence greatly disturbed Abathur. On the one hand, the Zerg never have and likely never will save anyone from anyone, but Kerrigan _did_ use the Zerg to kill Arcturus Mengsk. The contrast between the rather silly mental image and the more serious actual memories disturbed him on a deep level, but he didn't say that.

"Have stories," Abathur answered. "Requires more intimate knowledge of Zerg workings."

"Is that so?~" asked Rumia, displaying a smile that Abathur would rather not see again.

"Is so," Abathur answered quickly so that he could turn away. "Ready to learn?"

"We're definitely ready!" Cirno cheered.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," Mystia sighed. Abathur got the impression that she was more mature than her friends, with the exception of Daiyousei. "Something tells me that everyone else is gonna talk through the whole lesson, but I'll try to listen."

"Sufficient," Abathur would have smiled if he could. "Listen closely."

…

_Eons ago, Xel'Naga were born. Created life. Destroyed stars. Encountered Voice in Darkness. When faced with death, created two _new _species. One species, given purity of essence. Other species, given purity of form. Xel'Naga, pure in both manners. Over time, two species met, became friends. Allied. Interspecies relationships, formed. Children inherited Purity of Essence. Children also inherited Purity of Form. Children became new incarnation of Xel'Naga._

_Xel'Naga, eventually faced with death once again. Created two species like before. New species slowly merged into Xel'Naga again._

_Cycle of death and rebirth continued for rest of time._

…

"Abathur?" asked Chen.

"Have query?" he asked in return.

"That story's real neat and all, but what do these Xel'Naga people have to do with how the Zerg work?"

"I was beginning to wonder that myself," Mystia admitted. "Unless I'm right, and this has to do with the genesis of the Zerg?"

"Correct," Abathur answered. "Will elaborate."

…

_Eventually, latest incarnation of Xel'Naga found to be dying once more. Once again, created two new species. First species were Protoss. Protoss, have Purity of Form. Have psionic abilities, great technological prowess, bipedal form._

_Second species was Zerg. Protoss were created entirely by Xel'Naga. Meanwhile, Zerg already existed on planet Zerus. However, previous form of Zerg were worm-like insects, low on food chain. Xel'Naga uplifted them. Touched them. Made them… great. Evolved into creatures capable of assimilating other creature's essence into their own. Gave them Purity of Essence._

_However, some Xel'Naga, rebellious. Amon, Xel'Naga extremist, gave Zerg Overmind. Overmind had control over most Zerg. Some Zerg hid from Amon's influence. Most Zerg fell to Overmind._

_Overmind, not evil creature. Overmind, given single overriding directive: to destroy Protoss. Amon's goal, prevent Xel'Naga from reincarnating. Amon's goal, rebuild creation in own image._

_Over next few millennia, Zerg grew. Overmind left Zerus, leaving Zerg safe from its influence behind. Eventually evolved into Primal Zerg. Different story._

…

"Wow…" Wriggle gaped. "I thought that the Zerg just evolved like all other insects! But they were forcefully evolved by these Xel'Naga, and then got messed with? That's so weird!"

"Wait, so the Zerg all just want to kill the Protoss really badly?" asked Cirno. "That's not nice!"

"I don't think that's it, Cirno!" Daiyousei cried. "Abathur doesn't seem all that obsessed with killing them! And he's a Zerg!"

"Will explain how that was dealt with soon," Abathur reassured. "For now, continue story at hand."

"I knew it," Mystia groaned. "They're talking through the whole thing!"

…

_Overmind, obsessed with killing Protoss. When two species met, war broke out. Continued for even more centuries. Come 25th century, third species comes into play- Terrans_.

…

"Wait, 25th?" asked Rumia. "I thought it was only the 21st century."

"Abathur comes from the future, dummy! I told you that already!" Cirno yelled. "He's from the 26th century!"

"Cirno, you don't have to be so mean about it…" Chen sighed.

…

_Terrans, from planet Earth- planet Gensokyo is located on. Burglars, murderers, corrupt politicians, other criminals, rounded up onto spaceship and shot into space. Descendants create new societies- Terran Confederacy, Kel-Morian Combine, Umojan Protectorate. Confederacy makes first contact with Zerg and Protoss when Zerg are found on Terran planet Chau Sara. Protoss burn surface of Chau Sara, killing all Zerg and Terrans on surface. Leads to third species hating both Zerg and Protoss. Terran named Sarah Louise Kerrigan is second-in-command to Sons of Korhal rebel group, seeking to bring down corrupt Confederacy. Terran named James Eugene Raynor joins Sons of Korhal after Confederacy abandoned him to Protoss and Zerg._

…

"Abathur!" Chen shouted, sticking her hand into the air.

"Yes?" he asked.

"This is really interesting, but what do the humans have to do with the Zerg?" asked Chen. "We already have humans in Gensokyo! We don't need them explained to us! Also, you're making your own species sound like monsters…"

"Were not monsters," Abathur responded. "Were following orders of a monster."

"Hold on," asked Daiyousei. "Abathur, when were you born?"

"Was created in 1885," Abathur responded. "Replacement for previous Evolution Master. Attempted to rebel against Overmind. Was put down for his efforts. Created me. Better at evolution and reconstitution of Swarm than previous Evolution Master. Also more obedient."

"1885?!" Cirno yelled. "That's the same year that Gensokyo was made! 'Least, that's what Sensei said!"

"Interesting," Abathur responded. "Have existed as long as Gensokyo. Was never aware of its existence until recently. Revelation. Continuing."

…

_Sons of Korhal succeed in bringing down Terran Confederacy. Leader Arcturus Mengsk replaces it with Terran Dominion. Raynor leaves Sons of Korhal, as Dominion is no better than Confederacy. Kerrigan is abandoned by Sons of Korhal, left on Zerg-infested platform. Zerg retrieve Kerrigan, infest her._

…

"Abathur, what's infesting mean?" asked Wriggle. "I mean, when I think of infestation, I think of a bunch of bugs stealing someone's house."

"Similar idea," Abathur explained. "Infestation involves Zerg hyper-evolutionary virus being infected into other organism. Turns individual into member of Swarm. Infest enough of that species, infested variant adds itself to gene pool. Larva can become infested variant. All Zerg strains, created by infesting another species. Leviathans, previously peaceful space whales. Hydralisks, originally herbivorous species. Infested Terrans, previously humans."

"Aieek!" Chen screamed, falling off of her log. "You're not gonna do that to us, are you?!"

"Will not," Abathur scoffed. "Two reasons. Like Gensokyo. Do not want to infest it. Even then, Queen of Blades forbid me."

"Who's the Queen of Blades?" asked Mystia, suddenly joining the conversation. "That one's not as self-explanatory."

"Queen of Blades, current leader of Swarm," Abathur responded. "Getting to that."

…

_After infesting Kerrigan, she becomes powerful Zerg weapon. Raynor, Mengsk, and Protoss exile Zeratul discover her existence. Kerrigan's body, designed by me. One of my greater creations._

_Zeratul discovers way to kill Cerebrates. Kills Cerebrate Zasz, turning his Brood feral, as well as giving location of Aiur, Protoss homeworld, to Overmind. Overmind leaves Kerrigan behind on Char, Zerg primary hive cluster, and brings large army to Aiur to invade._

_Protoss fight back, make alliance with Raynor and his men. Work together to destroy Overmind._

_Kerrigan becomes new ruler of the Swarm, Queen of Blades._

…

Abathur paused to judge the reactions of his reveal to his audience. Mystia's eyes simply widened, while most others had gaping mouths. Cirno fell off of her log. Of course, Abathur skipped the Brood Wars. While important, he didn't need to explain them to get his ideas across.

"...Okay. I was _not_ expecting that reveal," said Mystia. "So, the leader of the Swarm is a human?"

"Former human," Abathur clarified.

"...Wow," Wriggle said, seemingly amazed. "That's really cool! She's like a Youkai, then! Some Youkai used to be humans! Like Miss Alice! She's a Youkai who used to be human, and everyone's saying that Miss Marisa's gonna become a Youkai someday."

Abathur didn't know this. However, he reasoned that Kerrigan did- she was the one who was so enamored with the Youkai that she sent him on this crazy mission. She probably saw the similarities, and didn't tell him, knowing her.

"Story, not quite finished," he spoke up. "Still more."

…

_Four years later, Zerg are unseen. Still in existence, hiding from rest of the universe. Growing, infesting new species and creating new strains. Kerrigan works closely with me and Izsha. Izsha, described by… a friend… as a Zerg memory device. Kerrigan, stored battle plans, ideas, memories inside Izsha for future reference. Used me to help advance Swarm. Then, attacks. Zerg reappear from all directions, slaughtering millions of Terrans and Protoss. Raynor seeks vengeance from Queen of Blades for stealing lover from him, as human Kerrigan dated him briefly before infestation. Also seeks vengeance for killing Protoss warrior Fenix, who Raynor forged close friendship with._

_Over time, discovers ancient Xel'Naga artifact. Upon use, turns Kerrigan human again_.

…

"Wait, hold on!" Wriggle said. "I thought you said you still worked for her!"

"Patience," Abathur replied. "Working towards that."

"That's so sad," Cirno cried. "She slaughtered millions of them? That's a lot of dead people! I don't think that many people live in Gensokyo, period!"

…

_Despite being human again, Protoss and Dominion still seek revenge for 8 billion killed by Queen of Blades. Kerrigan relocated to Umojan Protectorate facility. Raynor rekindles old relationship with Kerrigan, who still has minor control over Swarm. Dominion Task force arrives, seemingly kills Raynor. Out of revenge for killing Raynor and surrendering her, Kerrigan works to reclaim Swarm and kill Mengsk. After visiting Zerus, Zerg homeworld, she becomes Primal Queen of Blades, the perfect combination of Terran and Zerg matter. Unfortunately, not designed by me. Natural creation of spawning pool. Kerrigan reclaims entire Swarm and discovers that Raynor is still alive. With Raynor's assistance, invades Dominion core world of Korhal and kills Mengsk once and for all. Unfortunately, received evidence that Amon had been resurrected while pursuing this goal._

…

"Amon?" asked Chen. "That Xel'Naga guy who broke the Zerg?"

"Correct," Abathur confirmed. "Amon, resurrected by follower Emil Narud, ancient shape shifter. Kerrigan suspects him to be same person as Samir Duran, seemingly Infested Terran who betrayed Swarm. Continuing story. Almost over."

…

_After Mengsk's death, Kerrigan rallied forces. All Zerg, given new goal: stop Amon. To this end, chased many reports of Xel'Naga artifacts. Reclaimed many. Latest was large room. At end of room, giant door. Upon reclaiming, Kerrigan touched artifact. Discovered its purpose- portal to sub-dimension. Sent me and small force of Zerg through portal to claim essence from sub-dimension. Upon arrival, locals attacked until ice fairy convinced others to attempt communication. Will admit, attacked first. Ice fairy introduced me to friends._

…

"...Rest is history," Abathur finished. "Know what happened next."

"That ice fairy was me!" Cirno giggled. "_I_ resolved an Incident! Me!"

"Ah," said Rumia, adopting a devilish smile. "So that was the story of how you met us."

"Correct," said Abathur. "Story not finished. However, rest of story is either known to you, or as of yet nonexistent. No need to tell more."

"Hmm," Mystia spoke up. "That was a pretty interesting story."

"Aw, come on!" yelled another voice. The group turned around, to find Vampire Ultralisk leaning on a tree. "You didn't even mention me, Evolution Master! I was one of those Zerg she sent with you!"

"Will repeat. Rest of story is known," Abathur sighed. "No need to explain your creation. Cirno was present at time, likely told others."

"Well, seems like you did a good job of distracting them for a while," complimented a new voice.

"Sensei!" Cirno and Daiyousei cried, flying over and latching on to their teacher.

"Compliment accepted," Abathur returned. "Might pursue new profession. Author."

"Heh, that'll be the day," Vampire piped up, still leaning against a tree. "We still need to help the Swarm stop Amon."

"This 'Amon' seems like a real threat," Keine piped up. "Should we be worried?"

"Not unless Amon discovers portal," Abathur reassured. "Gensokyo, protected by Hakurei Barrier. Still protected in 26th century. No threat to Gensokyo. _Gensokyo is threat to Amon_. Entire purpose for coming- to use Gensokyo's essence to make Swarm powerful enough to defeat Amon."

"Ah," Keine said. "That _is_ right, isn't it? Well, you're not hurting anyone. I think it'll be fine."

"Am… pleased to hear it," he responded.

"You can go back to whatever it is you were doing today, if you'd like Abathur," Keine suggested.

"Will stay," Abathur said. "Would like to… 'Hang Out' with them."

"Heh," Keine smiled. "Good to know. I hope you'll stay on this path. It could completely revolutionize Gensokyo _and_ the Zerg."

With a smile, she wandered over and lied down on a log.

"Now, I didn't get much sleep last night, for… reasons," she said. "So I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up if you need anything."

"Will do," Abathur promised.

…

"Yukari! Yukari!" Chen shouted. "I learned a lot about those newcomers today! Their leader told us their entire history!"

"Did they?" asked Yukari, turning around and beaming down at Chen. "That's delightful news! Why don't you go wash up, and you can tell me and Ran about it at dinner?"

"Okay!" Chen giggled, and ran upstairs. Meanwhile, Ran exited her room and turned to Yukari.

"You already know, don't you?" asked Ran.

"Well, what kind of mother would I be if I didn't keep tabs on Chen at all times?" Yukari asked. "It's not like I interfere with her life. I just see everything she sees. And I heard that story. Such a _fascinating_ one. Especially since he knows… who the Xel'Naga are."

Yukari grinned, and Ran sighed.

"As interesting of a story as it was, it's kinda creepy to go spying on Chen everywhere. And she's not your daughter!" Ran chastised.

"Of course not," Yukari smiled. "She's _our_ daughter."

Ran simply sighed and walked back into the bedroom as Yukari continued making her dinner for the night.

"Yukari!" Chen giggled. "I'm done washing up!"

"Good girl!" Yukari beamed. "Dinner's almost ready!"

"Okay!" Chen smiled.

…

And that's the end of Chapter 9, our second intermission! A fitting place for us to have a story revolving around Team Nineball, isn't it?

Also, we finally see Yukari for more than a sentence. How does she know about the Xel'Naga? What could she possibly have planned? Why is she so obsessed with the idea of Chen being her and Ran's daughter?

Also, this is an intermission, but I think it ended up being the longest chapter yet, even if it is just Abathur recapping the backstory of Starcraft, the first game, Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and the events between Heart of the Swarm and the opening scene. In fact, that's probably why it's the longest- there was a lot of stuff to cover there.

Hell, I even included some fanon explanations for things, like when and why Abathur was created. Also, this chapter shows that while Kerrigan is portrayed as somewhat meaner than in Heart of the Swarm, she's still technically heroic.

Also, I didn't forget that the Swarm saved Raynor, but Abathur _did_.

Anyways, remember to review. Onto our third arc!


	10. Zerus

**Hello, and welcome to Chapter 10, our third arc! And in this arc, we'll actually have an **_**incident**_** for Abathur to solve! Yippee!**

**But first- reviews. I'm gonna start with our two reviews from chapter 8:**

**Palver7:**

**Wow. This chapter is very good. I am pleasantly surprised on how you write Flandre's personality and also how you describe the first youkai-zerg strain. When I think on the battle between youkai-zerg and the other starcraft factions, I guess the youkai-zerg will instantly overwhelm them. **

**I also like the fact you choose friendly setting for abathur and gensokyo, and that you can make this setting work.**

**-Thank you for complimenting my interpretations! As for being able to beat the other factions, the Youkai Zerg are insanely strong, but not all-powerful. Youkai Zerg are about as strong as one of the weaker Hero units, to be more specific. Basically, Vampire Ultralisk would slaughter a normal Ultralisk, but would just as easily **_**be **_**slaughtered by, say, the Hyperion or Kerrigan. They don't upset the balance between the three races all that much.**

**Dead Pann:**

**Abathur has friends now! And a... daughter?**

**-Well, he already had friends on the Leviathan, but now he has friends in Gensokyo, too. If you want to call Vampire Ultralisk anyone's daughter, she'd be Abathur and Flandre's daughter, but nobody in-universe thinks of it that way. Vampire Ultralisk just considers Abathur to be the Evolution Master whom she is loyal to.**

**And now, our review for Chapter 9:**

**Dead Pann:**

**A fun way for giving information to those of us who didn't play Starcraft 2. **

**I see Vampire Ultralisk as having pale skin, but with a so much dirt on her face that it gives her an ashy, or earthy, appearance. I imagine her clothes and hair being similar colors as a sort of grey-green, bringing attention to her deep red eyes.**

**-Actually, while your opinion on her skin isn't too far off, her hair and clothes are brown with bits of purple, because she's supposed to be a humanized Ultralisk with vampire qualities. I explained this in chapter 8, but I don't blame you if you forgot it.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur awoke to the sound of snoring. He himself was not the source- his body wasn't designed in a way that allowed for snoring, and it was still going on despite him being awake.

Abathur was lying face down on the ground of the Leviathan, and he slowly picked himself up.

The source of the snoring was Vampire Ultralisk, lying not too far away. Ever since her evolution, Abathur kept her as a constant bodyguard, as the rules of this place dictated that all fights must be solved with Danmaku, and she was the only one capable of that. It had taken a lot out of her.

The Leviathan was squinting. The transparent wall of the Leviathan, as a result, only had a little bit of light coming in.

He commanded the Leviathan to open its eyes, and it did so. Light flooded into the room, and one by one, the various Zerg within began to awake.

The last one to wake up was Vampire, who rubbed her eyes in protest.

"Five more minutes, sir…" she mumbled.

"Cannot be lazy," Abathur chastised. "Today, very important."

As if on cue, a squishy sound was heard from the door. Abathur crawled over and commanded the Leviathan's door to open, revealing Aya Shameimaru on the other side.

"Source of sound?" asked Abathur. Aya sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"I was, er, trying to knock…" she explained. "Doesn't work so well when you're knocking on an organic door."

"Explanation sufficient," Abathur dismissed. "Purpose of visit?"

"To see if you're ready for today, of course!" Aya thrust her fist into her chest proudly. "Today's a big day for all the Kappa and Tengu! Momiji says that her Kappa friend is happier than she's ever been in her life! Whatever it is that they're unveiling, it must be very important!"

Abathur sighed.

"Ready to depart. Vampire Ultralisk, fatigued. Will likely be better when we arrive."

"Good to hear it!" Aya grinned, flying in.

"Purpose for coming in?" Abathur asked.

"I wanna see what riding in the Leviathan is like!" Aya giggled. "You can't blame me for wanting to see that kind of action, can you?!"

"Definitely not!" Vampire agreed, stretching. "It's quite the privilege! Before, I was so big I couldn't even fit in this smaller one! Now, I'm small enough, and it's really refreshing!"

"Good to hear it!" Aya grinned.

"...Will allow it," Abathur sighed. "One time."

"Yippee!" Aya celebrated. She tried to jump, but barely got off the ground. "Oh. It's, uh, still pretty squishy in here, isn't it?"

"Correct," Abathur confirmed. "Will warn you- when not going at FTL speeds, Leviathan slower than you."

And so, the Leviathan began to fly. It wasn't slow, in any sense of the word, but it was indeed slower than Aya. Before long, it had arrived at Youkai Mountain- or, more specifically, the Kappa Village on the mountain.

When the door opened, Aya and Vampire flew out, and Abathur grabbed onto the bottom end of a Mutalisk. It flew out, carrying him to the village below.

Upon landing, multiple Youkai and humans alike stared at him. This was his first official, public appearance in the greater area of Gensokyo, and he'd already made allegiances with the Hakurei miko and the Scarlet Devil Mansion. This wasn't something to scoff at.

However, he was not the main event, and though his appearance was noteworthy, it still paled in comparison to what they were there for. The Kappa had hyped this machine up for months, and it intrigued Abathur. The Kappa Village in general reminded him of a Terran base. If they had technology like this already, what could this new thing be?

Before he could think further about this, a hand was waved in front of his chest. He turned to his right, finding the source of that hand.

"Hey," said the green-haired girl. "You're Abathur, right? Sanae Kochiya. I've heard a lot about you from Reimu and Marisa. Nice to meet you!"

"...Abathur," he greeted in return. "Knew that already."

"Heh?" asked Sanae. "You knew who I was already?"

"Was referring to you," Abathur corrected. "Told you something already known."

"Oh! I see!" Sanae clapped once, suddenly understanding. "Well, as much as I'd love to chat; I've got work to do. If you ever wanna talk, I live at the Moriya Shrine! Reimu can tell you where that is!"

And so, Sanae ran off, waving as she did. Oddly, she was headed for the same place that the new device was supposedly located. Did she aid in its construction?

"...Strange person," Abathur decided.

"Hello, Abathur."

Abathur turned around to find the small form of Remilia looking up at him.

"...Vampire," he answered. "Status of sister?"

"Flan's doing just fine," she smiled, waving her hand to dismiss the issue. "That's not what I'm here for."

"Purpose of conversation?" he asked.

"It's about what they're unveiling today," Remilia sighed. "I don't know what it is, but I helped fund it, since Yukari said that it's a good thing."

"Yukari?" he asked.

"You mean, you don't know Yukari?" asked Remilia. "Oh boy. That's weird, even for her. I was expecting her to give you hell."

"Give hell?" asked Abathur. "Do not understand."

"I'll have to explain it to you, then," Remilia stretched. "Yukari is the most powerful being in Gensokyo, because she has the ability to manipulate Borders. Since you can call almost anything a border, she's effectively a God."

Abathur blinked. Even a creature like that existed in Gensokyo? What else did Gensokyo have? _Actual_ Gods? Judges of the Dead? Xel'Naga?

Well, probably not Xel'Naga. Nobody actually knows what they are.

"She's also the creator of the Hakurei border," Remilia continued. "She considers herself Gensokyo's protector, but that doesn't stop her from messing with people left and right. 'Damn It Yukari' is a very common saying among the people who know her well. Of the people you know, Chen and Reimu probably know her best, since Chen actually lives with her, and Reimu frequently fights at her side during Incidents."

Chen Yakumo? The little cat girl who was friends with Cirno?

"Was… unaware," Abathur admitted, somewhat embarrassed. "Have only participated in one Incident. Have largely kept to myself until now."

"From what I hear, this isn't going to be the last time you make a public appearance, Abathur," Remilia grinned devilishly. "After today, Gensokyo's gonna be seeing a lot more of you."

"Correct," Abathur responded. "Will increase efforts to gather essence, weave it into Zerg creatures. Zerg will evolve. Zerg will return to Koprulu Sector to wipe out Amon."

"I heard the story from Vampire," Remilia smirked. Vampire had made routine visits to the Scarlet Devil Mansion since her creation, mainly to keep Flandre calm. "When you go back, keep in mind that you don't have to completely leave Gensokyo behind. You can take bits of it with you, and you can also come back. It's not like that Xel'Naga artifact is gonna break or something."

"Valid points," Abathur admitted. "Queen of Blades would likely not allow return. Taking things with me, still valid possibility.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen!" cried out a new voice over a microphone. Everyone in the crowd stopped talking and turned to the source, a blue-haired girl wearing a blue dress. "Now, what you've all been waiting for, the unveiling of the Kappa Village's latest creation! _The Zerus Generator!_"

Zerus generator? That made Abathur panic slightly. Zerus was the name of the Zerg homeworld. What did this 'generator' have to do with it?

He became even more panicked when they took the cover off of it. It was a building. A building that was very familiar to him. A building that could instantly end his life.

_A Terran Nuclear Silo_.

…

"I'm telling you, Abathur, you're just being paranoid," the girl sighed. "That thing's not a weapon, it's a generator! An electricity one! I mean, yeah, it's nuclear, but it doesn't have nukes!"

"Am not reassured," Abathur spoke shakily. "Looks exactly like Terran nuclear silo."

"Abathur, I know what that thing does! I helped design it, for christ's sake!" she banged her fist on the table.

"Nitori, calm down," Reimu grumbled. "He may be paranoid, but properly so. Those nuclear silo things killed a lot of Zerg, he said."

"But he's practically calling me a liar!" she yelled in response. "I'm an engineer, I'm not exactly an expert in lying!"

After the ceremonies were completed, Reimu found the terrified Abathur and introduced him to Nitori Kawashiro, the speaker at the event and one of the engineers who designed the Zerus Generator. She hoped that the introduction would reassure Abathur that the Zerus Generator wasn't a threat to his well-being, but Abathur just got more and more convinced that it was a weapon that he had seen in his past.

"Abathur's not from Gensokyo, Nitori," Reimu pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have to remember that. Where he's from, people die in battle all the time because they don't have things like Spellcard rules. I understand that he's wrong about it, but you don't have to get angry at him for it."

"Urgh," Nitori groaned. "I… suppose…"

"Aieek!"

"What was that?!" Reimu yelled, jumping up out of her chair, pulling out her Gohei.

"Sounded like large amounts of people screaming," Abathur answered. "Likely nuclear silo releasing nuclear missile."

"Dammit, Abathur, it's not a weapon," Nitori groaned, evidently holding herself back from yelling.

"There's a group of Youkai attacking everyone!" yelled a male kappa, running over. "Chief engineer! I think they're after the Zerus Generator!"

"What?!" Nitori yelled, jumping out of her seat as well.

"...New discovery," Abathur noted, plucking a hair from Nitori.

"Wh- hey?! What was that for!?" Nitori asked.

"Large-scale improvement to sequences," Abathur noted. "Sorry. Will make it up to you later."

And so, he ate the hair and crawled off towards the screaming, an annoyed Reimu and a mildly bewildered Nitori following him.

…

Well, we're starting our third arc, and what a way to start things off!

Remember to review, readers! Antagonist, signing off!


	11. All Out Hold Out

**Now, I know what most of you must be thinking. What the hell is going on with the Zerus Generator? Why is it **_**called**_** the Zerus Generator? Is Abathur right in his assessment that it's a Nuclear Silo, or is he just being paranoid?**

**It's hard to tell. But I can tell you one thing right now- We meet another major character in this arc, aside from Nitori, that is. Let's just say that she's got a lot of minions.**

**Reviews:**

**Kamijou Touma no baka (Chapter 2):**

**i dont understand how you guys in this fandom can make me fell... empaty for the zerg, they are the zerg... ugly hyperevolt space roaches**

**-I'll take that as a compliment! I mean, being able to write these characters as sympathetic is pretty impressive, in my book.**

**DrLouis (Chapter 10):**

**Great story. Like this interpretation of Abathur, too. Not too different from the game, but enough to be notable.**

**Seriously, he terrified me the first time I saw him in the game, and he creeped me out every time afterwards. I mean, those arms. STAHP. Please.**

**-Heh, he creeped me out, too. That's why I love him so much. He's not creepy in a way that detracts from the game or frightens me; he's creepy in a **_**fun**_** way that fits in with the tone of Heart of the Swarm. Also, it's fun to imitate him. **_**Abathur. Evolve Swarm, spin strands and sequences. Served Overmind, then served Queen of Blades. Now, serve you.**_

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and Starcraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

As Abathur crawled to the source of all the screams, he analyzed the hair that he had just eaten. Kappa essence was a very mysterious subject indeed, but it was far easier to unravel than Vampire DNA.

After comparing the Kappa hair to his previously existing Zerg, he sighed.

The Leviathan was the one most closely related to Kappas, and was thus the Zerg best suited to take its essence.

He hesitated, then sent all the Zerg on the Leviathan into Drop-Pods, with the exception of the Mutalisks, who simply flew out. He wasn't going to sleep on that ship another night. He would have to apologize to Vampire at some point.

Once all of the Zerg were safely off, he spun the Kappa essence into the Leviathan, finding an alley to hide in as he did so. That gave Reimu and Nitori a chance to catch up with him.

"Abathur! What was that for!?" Nitori asked, in between breaths. "What could possibly be the purpose of eating my hair?!"

"Recent discovery," Abathur answered. "Youkai essence, powerful enough that one strand of hair is enough to jumpstart evolution. Discovered when essence of Vampire was added to Ultralisk sequences. Also completely rewrites pre-existing sequences from base up."

"Wait," Nitori sighed. "So, you mean…"

"Correct," Abathur confirmed. "Kappa essence, new discovery. Large-scale improvements to Leviathan sequences."

"Wait," pointed out Reimu. "I knew about the whole essence thing, since I was around for Vampire Ultralisk's creation. But isn't the Leviathan your home? Where are you going to live? Where are the other _Zerg_ going to live?"

"Currently thinking of more options," Abathur replied. "Current plan, briefly return to Koprulu Sector, request new mini-Leviathan."

"Isn't Vampire Ultralisk good enough to protect you?!" Reimu shouted. "She beat Flandre, for crying out loud!"

"Barely beat Flandre. Ultralisk sequences, designed to be durable, at cost of speed and attack power," Abathur narrowed his eyes. "And can only attack targets within small range. Saw Spellcards. Short-range attacks. Not designed to attack multiple targets. Destruction at this scale, not possible for one person, unless person was Queen of Blades. Highly doubt Queen of Blades is present or malicious."

"Urgh… fine," Reimu sighed. "Just… don't be afraid to ask for help, in regards to shelter. You're a friend, I don't want you to get yourself and your Zerg caught up in some storm."

"Will remember," Abathur reassured. "Transformation already begun. May take time for transformation to complete- Leviathan larger and more complicated than Ultralisk."

"Got it," responded Reimu immediately. "So, we need to buy time for… Kappa Leviathan to be complete, right?"

"Correct," Abathur answered.

"If it's buying time that you need, Reimu, I would be more than happy to assist."

Reimu spun around, and found another woman at the end of the alley. Abathur couldn't see her that well, but he managed to make out blonde hair in a red headband.

"Alice!" Reimu greeted, her smile growing wider than Abathur had ever seen in a Terran.

"Hello, Reimu," 'Alice' smiled in return, which Abathur was able to see when Reimu ran over and hugged the girl so hard that she was knocked backwards a couple of steps.

"So, what's the plan?!" Reimu grinned.

"Well," Alice shrugged. "I've got Shanghai and Hourai with me. Our entire group, with the exception of Abathur, can work on buying time until Kappa Leviathan is ready. What's so special about this thing, anyways?"

"Powerful Youkai Zerg," Abathur responded. "Vampire Ultralisk already powerful Youkai Zerg, but cannot deal with multiple targets easily, due to specialization in Ultralisk sequences. Leviathan sequences, more malleable. Can focus on more targets once out of chrysalis."

"I see…" Alice nodded. "That makes sense. I suppose we should start distracting them, now?"

"If we're really gonna do this, I don't see any reason to wait," Nitori sighed.

"Wait! Hold up!"

The group of four looked up, and found Aya flying right at them.

"I can help!" she grinned. "If it involves helping Abby, I'm ready for anything!"

"Well, I was about to join, too, but I think four fighters is enough! Any more, and it just gets convoluted."

The group of five turned to the main street, finding Sanae looking down the alleyway.

"Since I'm just gonna get in the way of buying time… Ooh! Here's an idea. How about Aya stays here and guards Abathur himself, since she's the one closest to him, and I go and defend the Leviathan cocoon, and you three distract the attackers?" she asked. "I'll warn you now- the attackers aren't fairies like the Mooks of most Incidents. They're all lower Youkai."

"Thanks for the warning, mountain miko," Nitori gave a thumbs-up.

"Alright!" Reimu pumped her fist into the air, adopting her usual grumpy expression. "Let's move out!"

…

Reimu was beyond ecstatic. She hadn't seen Alice in months. Sure, there were a lot of people she hadn't seen in months, but none of them were as close to her as Alice. She'd have to make a concentrated effort in the future to keep Alice around more.

"Well," Alice smiled as she flew beside Reimu. "I've never worked with you on an Incident before. I worked with Marisa during the Imperishable Night Incident, but that's not quite the same. It also taught me to never work directly with Marisa ever again…"

"Heh, I certainly know that feeling," Reimu chuckled. "Marisa's a friend, but she does get to be too much sometimes."

"Here come the Youkai!" Nitori warned, and the trio scattered to avoid an obscenely large Danmaku.

"I've never seen a Danmaku that big!" Reimu yelled, bewildered. "What kind of Youkai created that?!"

"I did!" yelled out a nearby voice. The trio turned towards the source.

Said source was a girl. She wore a long, yellow dress, and over top of that wore a rather strange black over shirt- it appeared to be a sweatshirt, but stripes were cut out of it, revealing the dress beneath. Her hair was the same shade of yellow as her dress, and she carried a lantern on a stick. She was about as short as a fairy.

[STAGE ONE BOSS: Juri Yan (lantern Tsukumogami)]

"Be prepared to lose this Danmaku battle, miko!" yelled the Youkai. "I'm really tough!"

"We'll see about that," Reimu grimaced, pointing her Gohei out in front of her. "There's three of us! You can't beat us like that!"

"Bring it on!"

…

Sanae raced to the chrysalis that Abathur told her about, and it was _massive_. It must have been the size of a house! She could understand why Abathur lived on it!

She landed on top of the Chrysalis and waited for somebody to come challenge her. It must have been five minutes, when she was beginning to doze off when she heard a voice.

"Well, er, now, we… uh… how do I destroy this thing?"

"You don't!" she shouted, jumping up and turning around to face the newcomer head-on.

"Oh, crap!" she yelled. "The mountain miko noticed me!"

"Why's everyone calling me 'mountain miko' today!?" Sanae cried.

"Aieek! Didn'tmeantooffend!" the newcomer responded. "Please don't exterminate me!"

"...As long as you don't do anything to this Chrysalis, you'll be fine…" Sanae reassured. Now that she got a good look at the newcomer, she wore a red yukata, with her white hair done into two twintails.

"Thank goodness," the newcomer sighed in relief. "Thank goodness… that I now have the element of surprise!"

"Eh?" asked Sanae. Before she could react, the newcomer thrust a ball of Danmaku in her face.

[STAGE TWO BOSS: Ayumu Manson (Zombie)]

…

"Hey, Abby," Aya noted. "The others are all working really hard. How long will it be until Kappa Leviathan gets out of its Chrysalis?"

"Impossible to tell," Abathur answered honestly. "Could be seconds. Could be hours. Not enough previous research to indicate answer."

"Hours?!" Aya yelled. "I mean- sorry. But really? It could be hours?"

"Hopefully not," Abathur sighed. "Will take less time than that, most likely. Still, impossible to tell."

"It'll never get out of that chrysalis! I sent my best agent to destroy it! Whoever you sent to guard it, they won't be enough!"

Abathur and Aya turned to the source of the new voice, and found a red-haired girl. She wore her hair in a side-ponytail, and wore a blue sweatshirt with a white miniskirt, which contrasted quite nicely with her hair.

[STAGE THREE BOSS: Ririko Asahina (Magician)]

Aya instantly moved to defend Abathur. "Don't touch Abby!" she yelled.

"Heh," Ririko grinned. "What makes you think you can stop me?"

…

And there's the end of the second chapter of the arc.

Give yourself a cookie if you predicted that the new character would be Alice. Although, I don't think I hid it _that_ well. It's probably amazingly obvious. Unless you actually didn't see that coming, in which case I should give myself a cookie.

Anyways, the stage three bosses have now been introduced. The next chapter will deal with actually _fighting _them. Also, Alice is rising through the ranks, and has now replaced Cirno as Fourth Most Important Protagonist. I will update the character listings to accommodate for this new change.

See you next chapter.


	12. Stage Third Person

**Welcome back to **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**, sorry for the wait. This chapter continues the battles of Reimu, Alice, and Nitori VS Juri, Sanae VS Ayumu, and Aya VS Ririko.**

**Also, I feel like I should elaborate on what I said at the end of the last chapter. Cirno's not getting any less important, it's just that Alice is going to be **_**more**_** important, yet still not as important as Reimu or Aya. Because I like Alice, and her role in the plot is… moderately important.**

**Before we deal with the three bosses, though, we have a surprise visit from an old friend. Also, from this point on, I will no longer respond to reviews on here, but will respond to them in the actual reviews section- unless, of course, the option of responding to them isn't available, for whatever reason.**

**Such as this DrLouis review from chapter 11:**

**Briefly had a thought of what would potentially happen if Alice's essence was spun into Brood Lord/Swarm Host sequences...until I remembered that Alice was a Magician, and puppets/dolls are more just her specialty, so it may not work like that.**

**And that no Swarm Hosts or Brood Lords were sent with Abathur. **

**Thank goodness.**

**-Oh? And you're sure that no Swarm Hosts or Brood Lords will arrive in the future? In any case, you're right, it does not work like that. Her dolls wouldn't do anything to the Locusts or Broodlings. However, the possibility of her essence being added to the Swarm is still very real...**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

James Eugene Raynor walked the halls of the Hyperion, looking back on his life.

After Valerian took the throne, the Raiders were no longer considered a terrorist group. However, they weren't an official part of the Dominion military, either. Legally, they were a legal militia group with independent goals.

"O-oh! Commander! I was hoping I'd find you!"

Raynor turned around to find Egon Stettman standing behind him.

"Stettman," Raynor greeted. "What do you need?"

"The Zerg… uh, thing, escaped from its pod," Egon answered. "Or, maybe someone stole it. I don't know. All I know is, my highly evolved specimen is gone."

Raynor sighed and rubbed his forehead. That wasn't news he needed to hear right now.

"I'll… Hell, I'll get Matt to ask Kerrigan if she can find the damn thing. I need to go talk to him anyways."

"Ah, thanks, commander," Egon sighed. "You won't regret this! That thing's gonna solve all sorts of mysteries about the Zerg!"

"Let's just hope I don't," Raynor sighed, and continued on his way to the Bridge.

…

Upon arriving on the Bridge, Matt Horner immediately cornered him.

"Sir, a Tal'Darim squad completely took out a group of our troops," Matt explained. "Somehow, they managed to kill the pilot of a Siege Breaker without destroying the tank itself. I don't want to know what they plan to do with it, but the fact remains that we need to send another, stronger squad out there, and they'll probably have a stolen mercenary Siege Tank with them."

"Aw, hell," Raynor groaned. "First our problem with the specimen, and now this. Problems with both aliens for the price of one."

"Something happened to the Zerg specimen?" Matt asked.

"Stettman says that either it escaped or someone stole it," Raynor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping that you could contact Kerrigan and ask her to look for it with her weird Zerg powers."

"It takes a massive toll on the comm. network whenever we try to contact the Leviathan," Matt warned. "One of her subordinates, somebody called Abathur, says that Zerg and Terrans think too differently for the comm. system to operate correctly."

"Sounds like a smart guy," Raynor praised. "Didn't know Kerrigan had subordinates that were individuals. Other'n those Brood Mothers of hers, that is."

"Abathur's… easy to pick out of a crowd," Matt replied. "He's one of the strangest-looking Zerg I've ever seen, and that says a lot. He also seems to have… some sort of speech defect. He skips over a lot of words. He seemed oddly defensive when I pointed it out."

"Seems like you got to know him," Raynor teased.

"Hardly," Matt grumbled. "I asked Kerrigan why it strained our systems so much to call her, and she put him on the line. He hung up as soon as he was done explaining."

"Huh," Raynor smiled. "Seems he's mighty important to her team. Good to know. Makes it sound like the Zerg are headed in the right direction."

"In any case," Matt sighed. "I'm gonna need you to command this mission yourself, sir. We can't have any more good men dying trying to get that next artifact."

"I'm on it, Matt," Raynor said, walking over to the window. "Just tell me when we're ready."

…

Reimu Hakurei mentally cursed. This enemy took a strange approach to Danmaku- instead of lots of small bullets, she fired a few large ones. They were still only as powerful as one small one, so getting hit got her less hurt, but there were also less openings, so it was harder to dodge.

However, Nitori was the one who had the least luck in the fight. She herself wasn't the most powerful around, even if she wasn't completely terrible at Danmaku. With each Danmaku fired at her, she had to rapidly change directions, and the only way she could get that speed was by pushing off of buildings and the ground. She was getting exhausted. She could handle herself, certainly, but that didn't make Danmaku her forte.

Meanwhile, Alice herself was faring very well, but her dolls weren't doing so well. They were weak enough that one hit was enough to temporarily incapacitate any of her dolls, including Shanghai and Hourai. She was almost tempted to use her Grimoire, but she resisted the temptation. She'd rather not deal with the repercussions of doing so at the moment.

As Reimu flew all around the street, she realized, that she hadn't actually began her attack yet. She was too busy being distracted by, you know, getting chased around by giant Danmaku.

She started firing Danmaku at the source, and said source scrambled out of the way. That's when Reimu realized.

The girl was desperate to not get hit. She must not have had enough power to throw giant Danmaku like that while still being durable.

She was _vulnerable_.

Reimu grinned, and instantly knew what to do.

…

Alice focused entirely on dodging and what Reimu was doing. It seemed like Reimu had come up with something (she had a tendency to do that), but Alice couldn't figure out what.

That was when Reimu pulled out a spellcard.

"Spirit Sign 'Yin-Yang Sign'!" she called out, raising the spellcard into the air. A pair of circles made of Danmaku expanded out from Reimu, but while one of them continued expanding, the center one broke formation and all hit Juri at once.

"Aurgh!" yelled the tsukumogami, falling down. The giant Danmaku all dissipated.

"We've won the Danmaku fight," said Reimu, floating down to the girl. "Don't make me resort to more drastic measures."

"Alright, fine!" Juri yelled. "I give up! I don't even care all that much about the Zerus reactor, anyways."

…

Sanae swung her Gohei, releasing a torrent of Danmaku at her enemy. After some mild groaning, the enemy in question pulled out a spellcard.

"Romero Sign 'Character Death'!" Ayumu yelled. Two Danmaku shot out, both going completely past Sanae.

"Is that the best you got?!" Sanae laughed, before suddenly being struck in the back by the boomerang Danmaku.

"I call it that because character deaths are surprising, and this spellcard is all about surprise!" Ayumu laughed triumphantly. "Maybe now, you'll see that you can't win!"

As soon as she finished this sentence, a green Danmaku was thrown at Ayumu, knocking her backwards.

"Eh?" asked Sanae. She turned around only to find that the Chrysalis was wide open, and a girl stood in the center. Her blue hair was done up into a short ponytail, and she, for whatever reason, wore a red maid outfit with a purple apron, which contrasted nicely with the four tentacles on her back that ended in spikes. She also wore neon green socks. And a killing intent came from all around her.

…

Kappa Leviathan surveyed her surroundings. The nice miko who protected her while she was vulnerable was safer, but still not entirely safe. She had to act now.

"Kappa Leviathan says," she spoke dryly. "That the Miko is under _her_ protection. She will not tolerate any attacks on the Miko, not one!"

"Whoa," Sanae commented. "She's like some cutesy anime character, crossed with some soldier anime character. Like a Magical Girl!"

Kappa Leviathan didn't know what Sanae meant, but that didn't matter. Her current objective was to repay Sanae for protecting her.

"Zerg Sign 'Spine Crawler'!" Kappa Leviathan yelled, holding up a spellcard.

And so, her four tentacles extended from her back, and each fired off a stream of white Danmaku.

Ayumu struggled to dodge most of them, and ended up getting pelted by most of them.

After some fairly nondescript groaning and yelling, Ayumu ceased flying and fell down to the ground.

"Thanks for the help back there!" Sanae complimented. "I really needed it. She wasn't all that strong, but she… well, she cheated. People don't often cheat at Danmaku, and it surprised me."

"No need to thank Kappa Leviathan!" Kappa Leviathan grinned. "She was only paying you back for protecting her!"

"Also, quick question," Sanae asked.

"Go ahead!" Kappa Leviathan put her hands on her hips.

"Are you always going to speak in third person?"

"...Eh?"

…

"Cork Sign 'Mountain God Procession'!" Aya called, and a slew of Danmaku appeared. Abathur was sure to partially burrow himself in the ground to avoid the Danmaku that went in his direction. However, Ririko was not a Zerg, and did not have that option. She failed to dodge the Danmaku, and was lightly singed.

"I'm not as weak as my subordinates!" she shouted, grinning wildly. "I can take more hits than both of them combined!"

"Then be prepared for the next spellcard!" Aya shouted. "Cork Sign 'Advent of the Divine Grandson'!"

This time, even more Danmaku were created, and Abathur was especially glad that he was almost entirely underground at this point.

Ririko was more successful in dodging this time, but since there were more bullets, she was hit all the same.

'Heheh!" she laughed. "There's no way you can beat me, reporter!"

"Urgh!" Aya yelled. "Cork Sign 'Terukuni Throughout the World'!"

Even more bullets began to fire outwards, and this time, Ririko herself took out a spellcard.

"Mountain-Water Sign 'Waterfall'!" she called, and waves of blue Danmaku came flooding out. Both girls were hit directly in the chest by the conflicting Danmaku, and both were sent backwards. Abathur had to burrow further to avoid getting kicked.

"Heh," laughed Ririko. "I'm unbeatable!"

"Kappa Leviathan says, think again!" yelled out a new voice. All three of the creatures in the alley looked up to see a new girl, evidently Kappa Leviathan. Was that third-person? In any case, Sanae wasn't far behind.

"Zerg Sign 'Spawn Brood Lord'!" she called, holding up a spellcard.

Two Brood Lord-shaped Danmaku appeared, and each began shooting two streams of Broodling-shaper Danmaku. Most of the attacks hit Ririko dead on, and she was thrown to the ground. Kappa Leviathan won the Danmaku battle.

…

"Interesting," the woman noted. "If Ririko was defeated that easily, we may need to hold off on fighting them ourselves. Nothing says that we need the Zerus Generator right now. We can wait until we're stronger. Wouldn't you say so, Nagi?"

"Urgh," the Youkai beside her, Nagi, grumbled. "I don't like the idea of stealing it in broad daylight in the first place. I don't wanna get beat up by the incident resolvers. Can't we sneak it away in the night?"

"That's not how we do things in Gensokyo," the woman admonished. "Really, my cowardly little Gashadokurou. Learn the local culture more."

"I'm not a coward," Nagi argued lightly, but didn't dare go against her powerful master.

…

"Well, Kappa Leviathan," Reimu said. "What's your main goal in life?"

"Kappa Leviathan's goal is to protect the Evolution Master!" she pumped her fist in the air.

"Yeah!" Vampire agreed, punching Kappa Leviathan in the shoulder lightly. "Best job in the world!"

Abathur paid the ongoing conversation no mind. He was flattered, definitely, but he had more important things on his mind.

There were the questions. What was the Zerus Generator? Why was it so important? Was it really a Nuclear Silo?

There were also his more complex plans. He would have to take a Mutalisk up to the portal and go back to the Koprulu Sector, and ask Kerrigan for reinforcements.

Not to mention, his new pet project. Within himself, he began to spin sequences.

This new creature was based around the strands of himself, the Vampire, and the Kappa.

It would be a powerful weapon for the Swarm.

…

And that's it for the second arc! The 'Zerus Incident' was rather abruptly cut off, but as this mysterious woman says, the bad guys know what they're up against here.

The next chapter is our next Intermission, and this one will be written from Kerrigan's point of view as Abathur asks for reinforcements and provides a status update.

Will the Zerg specimen's escape or the stolen Siege Breaker be important? Maybe, maybe not.

Remember to review, and I'll see you in the intermission!


	13. Status Report

**Hello, and welcome to our third intermission. Here, Abathur will offer a status update to Kerrigan, and the chapter will be written from Kerrigan's perspective. Except for the end, that is…**

**Also, I'm axing my tradition of not including my disclaimers on the Intermission chapters. That was dumb in the first place.**

**First, though, a review from DrLouis:**

**Oh man, Abathur's doing SCIENCE again...can't imagine what he's going to do with strands of himself and the other two.**

**I'm not sure I want to imagine. O.O**

**I thought your way of naming Vampire and Kappa was weird at first, but then I realized it would make sense for the Zerg, given that more like those two (and other new strains made in Gensokyo) are going to be used in battle by Kerrigan in the future (like several of each at once (I think?)), meaning unique names would be impractical.**

**On another note, I like Kappa Leviathan's third-person speaking quirk.**

**-Heh, I can certainly imagine, but that's because I've planned it. As for the naming, yeah, that was the original idea. Vampire Ultralisk and Kappa Leviathan are the names of the strains of Youkai Zerg, not their individual names. They may end up getting unique names eventually, since they've got human-level intelligence, but they don't have them yet. Also, keep in mind that the talking thing is a her-only thing. Any other Kappa Leviathans created in the future will **_**most likely**_** not have that quirk. It's not a Kappa Leviathan thing, it's just her thing.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. **

…

Sarah Kerrigan scowled as she climbed up to the Xel'Naga artifact. Hours earlier, Abathur had contacted her, saying that he was temporarily back- something happened to his miniature Leviathan, and he needed a replacement.

As punishment, Kerrigan wouldn't bring another copy of his pet project, but she still wanted him to complete his mission. As such, she was trailed by an Overlord carrying a Swarm Host and an Infestor, as well as a pair of Vipers and a Hercules Dropship, stolen from under Raynor's nose and piloted by an Infested Terran. She didn't want to hide it from him, but she was certain that he wouldn't let her take one of the experimental cargo ship just to gather more essence.

When she entered the room, she was extremely surprised at what she saw.

She saw Abathur playing a card game with a girl. The girl wore a strange red hat, and had the black wings of a crow. Off in the corner was a sleeping Mutalisk, likely the one that he used to get back to the Artifact.

"In possession of threes?" Abathur asked.

"Nah, no threes," the other girl responded. "Got any fours?"

"Am in possession of two fours," Abathur answered.

"Hahah!" the girl laughed, taking the cards in question from him. "Go fish!"

"Abathur," Kerrigan interrupted. "Who is this?"

Kerrigan could have swore that Abathur seemed shocked at her reappearance, while the girl he was with looked between Kerrigan and her cards before cheerfully throwing them down and jumping up.

"Aya Shameimaru," the girl introduced. "Head journalist of the Bunbunmaru!"

"I asked him," Kerrigan snapped.

"And I'm gonna guess that you're Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades?" asked Aya, ignoring the jab.

"I am," Kerrigan answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see the Koprulu Sector, and Abby said he was gonna come ask for backup, so I came with him!" she answered with a grin.

"Abby?" asked Kerrigan.

"Nickname," Abathur answered. "Insisted."

"...I see," Kerrigan scowled. "And why, pray tell, did you not kill her? I told you to take the Youkai's essence."

"Not powerful enough to kill Youkai," Abathur answered. "Additionally, have grown to like them. Can gather essence in other ways. Youkai hair, contains enough essence to completely rewrite sequences from base up. Leviathan's fate."

"Yeah!" Aya confirmed. "He ate Nitori's hair and then the Leviathan turned into a girl!"

"...I don't even want to know," Kerrigan sighed. "Wait, yes, I do. There are two reasons for my being here. For one, I'm giving you that backup. Be more responsible next time. For that reason, I'm not giving you a Leviathan, I'm giving you an Overlord and a stolen Terran ship. Onboard are additional reinforcements, should you need them."

"Much appreciated," Abathur noted. "Work as warriors as well as test subjects. Spin Youkai Essence into Swarm, create new strains."

"The _second_," Kerrigan cut off. "Is that I want a status report. What the hell's been going on over there, and what's been taking you so long? Zagara's starting to complain about your absence."

"Can explain," Abathur nodded. "Beginning report."

…

_Upon arrival, was immediately spotted by local schoolteacher, Keine Kamishirasawa. Seeked assistance. Gained assistance of local miko, Reimu Hakurei; local magician, Marisa Kirisame; local ice fairy child, Cirno. Upon arrival, gained additional assistance from local reporter, Aya Shameimaru._

_Keine Kamishirasawa, half-Youkai half-Terran. Similar to you. Motherly towards students._

_Reimu Hakurei, Terran. Protects other Terrans from wild Youkai. Somewhat cynical._

_Marisa Kirisame, Terran. May one day become Youkai. Very energetic._

_Cirno, 'Fairy,' something not Terran or Youkai. Very young, childish._

_Aya Shameimaru, Youkai. Tengu strain. Always looking for something to report._

_After close battle, Cirno proposed communication. Communication was made. Featured in interview for Bunbunmaru._

…

"You were _interviewed?_" Kerrigan asked. "I can only imagine how that went."

"That's when I gave him his nickname!" Aya announced proudly.

"I can imagine," Kerrigan sighed. "Continue with your report."

…

_Was soon invited to Scarlet Devil Mansion. There, met master of the house, Remilia Scarlet; her maid, Sakuya Izayoi; her friend, associate, Patchouli Knowledge; Patchouli's familiar, Koakuma; Gate guard, Meiling Hong; Remilia's sister, Flandre._

_Remilia Scarlet, Youkai. Vampire strain. Very civilized. Constantly seeks to further own status._

_Sakuya Izayoi, Terran. Has strange ability to stop time. Unable to reproduce. Friendly._

_Patchouli Knowledge, Youkai. Magician strain. Generally collected, unless provoking a reaction from someone._

_Koakuma, 'little devil'. Refuses to tell meaning. Large mystery. Friendlier than Sakuya._

_Meiling Hong, Youkai. Unknown strain. Cheerful, but vicious when working._

_Flandre Scarlet, Youkai. Vampire strain. Mentally unstable, but cheerful._

_Over course of meeting, was attacked by Flandre. Roaches mysteriously acted independently._

_Collected essence sample of Flandre Scarlet. Spun it into Ultralisk strands. Result was Vampire Ultralisk. Capable of independent thought at Terran levels. Lacks usual Ultralisk abilities, have been translated into Youkai abilities. Status of Torrasque regeneration, unknown._

…

"Wait, it _translated_? How?" asked Kerrigan.

"Well, the Ultralisk has those weird blades on its arms, right?" asked Aya. "When she became a Youkai Zerg, she lost those blades, but she got an identical Spell Card. Zerg sign 'Kaiser Blades'. It generates a bunch of white Danmaku, and then they fold inwards!"

Kerrigan knew what a Spellcard was, and didn't have to ask, but was moderately surprised at the idea. Zerg abilities translating into spellcards made her question her choice.

…

_After visit was complete, returned to Leviathan. Described history of Zerg to Cirno, her friends. Soon after, made first public appearance at Kappa Village. Kappas unveiled device that had been hyped up for years. Zerus Generator._

…

"Zerus Generator?" asked Kerrigan. "Zerus is the name of the Zerg homeworld. Why would it share a name with some Youkai generator?"

"Unknown," Abathur sighed dejectedly. "Similarities don't stop there. Zerus Generator, identical to Terran nuclear silo. Nuclear reactor, meant to provide energy."

"That's… disturbing. I want you to look into it," Kerrigan ordered.

"Will do," Abathur answered. "Continuing report."

…

_At unveiling, Kappa Village was attacked. Attackers were Juri Yan, Ayumu Manson, Ririko Asahina._

_Juri Yan, Youkai. Lantern Tsukumogami strain. Unknown personality, was not present for battle._

_Ayumu Manson, Youkai. Zombie strain. Manipulative, deceptive, according to Kappa Leviathan._

_Ririko Asahina, Youkai. Magician strain. Arrogant, manipulative._

_Was assisted by three others. Local dollmaker, Alice Margatroid; local miko, Sanae Kochiya; local engineer, Nitori Kawashiro._

_Alice Margatroid, Youkai. Magician strain. Friendly, helpful, somewhat easy to annoy._

_Sanae Kochiya, Terran. Friendly. Seemingly airheaded, but not._

_Nitori Kawashiro, Youkai. Kappa strain. Defends her work._

_Nitori worked on Zerus Generator. Took essence sample from her, spun it into Leviathan sequences. Leviathan became Kappa Leviathan. Similar changes to changes made to Ultralisk sequences. Youkai attackers, driven off._

_Returned to Koprulu Sector with Mutalisk and Aya. Played card games until your arrival._

…

"...Have now caught up to present time," Abathur finished.

"Good to know," Kerrigan returned. "Continue your mission. _Don't slack off_. I want this job done as soon as possible."

"Will do," Abathur confirmed. "Time to return. Meeting, over."

"Go on," Kerrigan ordered. "Don't let me hold you up."

Abathur nodded, and he and Aya left. Kerrigan commanded the Zerg forces to follow them through the portal.

"Yeesh," she sighed once they were gone. "I tell him to gather essence, and he makes friends and becomes a local celebrity. He's getting worse and worse at his job. Sooner or later, I might have to kill him."

And so, she walked slowly out of the hall, alone this time.

…

The Tal'Darim warrior could hardly believe his ears. He'd just heard a meeting between two influential members of the Zerg Swarm, as well as one of the Creatures from beyond Heaven's Door. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

...Not to mention, the door was open. _The door was open_. If he was fast, he could get there, too.

And so, he ran to his stolen Terran technology.

The modified Terran tank.

The one that read 'Siege Breaker' on the side.

And he drove it as fast as he could to the Door before it closed.

…

Well, that certainly answers the question of 'Will the stolen Siege Breaker be important?'.

Also, a Tal'Darim is coming to Gensokyo. What kind of horrible stuff will he do there, if any? Not to mention, Abathur's got more Zerg working for him, now. Which means that, since I'm planning on getting every single Zerg under Abathur's control turned into a Youkai Zerg, this fanfic is gonna be even _longer_. Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to that.

Well, remember to review! See you in the fourth arc! By the way- it takes place at Eientei. So there's that.


	14. Bamboo Forest of the Sleepy

**Welcome back to **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**. Last time, a Tal'Darim warrior with a Siege Breaker tank found his way to Gensokyo, following Abathur and Aya on their way back after meeting with Kerrigan. Abathur also got more Zerg for his cause (specifically, an Infested Terran, an Overlord, a Swarm Host, an Infestor, and two Vipers, plus a Raynor's Raiders Hercules Dropship). The Overlord should make things moderately easier on him.**

**Also- the promised Eientei is here. Let's get started, shall we?**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur awoke in an environment that initially seemed terrifying and alien, before realizing that it was his new home.

He rose and crawled over to the cockpit of the Hercules Dropship, somewhat annoyed that he had to press a button in order to get through.

"Leader," the Infested Terran at the helm gurgled.

"Land," Abathur commanded, somewhat groggily. This feeling of grogginess confused him, as the Zerg were not generally groggy creatures. It may have something to do with his pet project, but he dismissed that thought. If it did have to do with that, it would only happen once the project was complete, and that wouldn't be for a long time.

"Gladly," his servant gurgled, pulling the steering wheel towards him in order to lower the dropship.

Abathur returned to the main hall of the Hercules. Most of the Hercules's space was taken up by this hall, covered in computer screens spouting data he didn't understand. The only other rooms were the cockpit in the very front and the engine room in the very back (along with a bathroom that only Vampire Ultralisk or Kappa Leviathan ever used).

When the ship landed, Abathur pressed a button to open the main doors. The main doors were massive, spanning the length of most of the hall, and about twice as tall as a Terran, still managing to be slightly taller than Abathur himself.

The leader of this miniature Swarm crawled off of the Hercules, a very tired Vampire Ultralisk and Kappa Leviathan following him.

"Urgh… Kappa Leviathan didn't get enough sleep last night, Evolution Master…" she yawned, stretching. Somewhere along the line, she managed to change into pajamas, even though there were no pajamas aboard the Hercules. He suspected that Sanae may have given them to her.

"I 'gree with K-L," the other slurred in agreement. "I need my beauty sleep…"

"Have plans," Abathur reminded them. "Must not miss meeting."

"And you've just barely made it on time," said Remilia Scarlet, walking out from behind a tree. "Are you sure you couldn't have brought any of your other subordinates? They both look pretty tired."

"Kappa Leviathan, Vampire Ultralisk, only Zerg capable of Danmaku," Abathur sighed. "Must have them for own protection. Other Zerg, must not be used."

The pair of Zerg stretched, Vampire's bony wings buzzing slightly and Kappa's tentacles expanding slightly before retracting.

"Well, I guess my plans for today aren't too difficult," Remilia sighed. "We're just going to visit doctor Yagokoro. I need to pick up a prescription, and I figured that it would be a good reason to introduce her to you. After all, you're public, now, and it'd be a good idea to have the best doctor on Earth take a look at you."

"Best doctor on Earth?" Abathur asked. If he could, he would quizzically raise his nonexistent eyebrow.

"Yes, even though she's, eh, not technically from Earth," Remilia clarified. "But she's also the best doctor on the _moon_, too…"

"Evidence suggests lack of life on Earth's moon in 26th century," Abathur argued. "No civilization on Luna."

"They're really good at hiding," Remilia shrugged. "Or, maybe they finally got wiped out by that point in the future. Who knows?"

"Well, why don't we go see this Yagokoro now?" asked Vampire. "I mean, that's why we're here."

"Exactly!" Remilia grinned with a snap of her fingers. "Sakuya."

With a pop, Sakuya appeared. "Yes, mistress?"

"We're ready," Remilia answered. "Find Fujiwara. We need her help getting through the Bamboo Forest.

"Of course, mistress," Sakuya answered, and she disappeared again.

"While she's bringing the fire-bird back," Remilia grinned. "I need to talk to you. Have you heard the rumors?"

"Rumors?" Abathur asked.

"Yes," answered Remilia. "There have been rumors of great cracking sounds not unlike thunder, accompanied by a large metal creature, ever since the resolution of the Zerus Incident. As in, the creature is like a giant metal block with wheels and another, smaller metal block on top. People say that it's very blue."

Abathur wracked his memory. The description sounded like a Terran Siege Tank, likely associated with the Raynor's Raiders given the blue color scheme. The cracking sounds were likely the cannon of the tank. The problem was, there was no reason for any Siege Tanks to exist in Gensokyo. They were a Terran machine, but they weren't invented until the 25th century, not to mention that they weren't a machine that existed outside the Koprulu Sector. The only way to go back in time was to go through the portal, and to be fair, he visited Koprulu just after the incident, but he, Aya, and Kerrigan were the only ones around. They had eliminated all of the Tal'Darim on the planet, which were a Protoss group anyways, and no Terrans had ever even set foot there.

"Abathur?" Remilia asked. "Gensokyo to Abathur."

"Sorry," Abathur apologized. "Was contemplating. Description, sounds familiar."

"Siege Tank?" asked Kappa. Abathur nodded. "But it's impossible for a Siege Tank to be here!"

"Oh?" asked Remilia. "What's a Siege Tank?"

"Terran vehicle from Koprulu Sector," Abathur answered. "Transforms between two modes. Tank mode, can move around. Siege mode, loses ability to relocate, but gains ability to shoot powerful, spreading projectiles across large distance. Can freely switch between two modes."

"They're probably the most useful part of the Terran armory," Vampire agreed. "And that's saying a lot, when they've also got electronic armor, giant robots, and space battleships."

"Terrans are humans, right?" asked Remilia. "Interesting. They've certainly gone far in just under five hundred years. That's nearly my whole lifespan. That's still not as advanced as what the Lunarians have, I don't think, but it's pretty close, and just as useful."

"Terrans, still not as technologically advanced as Protoss," Abathur reminded. "Can still go… 'toe-to-toe' with them. Advanced, not necessarily better."

"I suppose you're right," Remilia smiled. "In any case, Sakuya should be here soon."

At that moment, Sakuya walked through, a white-haired girl wearing baggy red pants following. Sakuya looked mildly annoyed.

"It took me four hours to find her, mistress," Sakuya groaned. "Gensokyo is a big place, and Fujiwara isn't that easy to find when she doesn't want to be found."

"I wasn't hiding or anything," the girl retorted. "I just decided to take a different route to the tavern today."

"In any case," Sakuya ended the argument right there. "Abathur, this is Fujiwara no Mokou, an immortal human. She can escort us through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost."

"Intimidating title," Abathur noted.

"It's earned it," Sakuya agreed. "If you don't have a good guide, you can get lost no matter how good of a navigator you are. That's why we've got Mokou with us."

"I can get you through the forest pretty easily," Mokou agreed. "You're going to Eientei, right? I'll leave you at the front door. It'd be a bad idea for me to go in for… a lot of reasons."

She turned to Abathur.

"You're Abathur, right? I'm a friend of Keine's. Nice to meet you. I heard you watched Cirno and Daiyousei for her once."

"Did," Abathur confirmed. "Explained history of Koprulu Sector."

"The Koprulu Sector's where you're from, right?" asked Mokou. "The folks at Eientei might be interested in that. Excepting Tewi and her rabbits, they're fond of astronomy. They might know where it is."

"Correct," he answered. "Might have something in common with them."

"Well, we need to be going," Mokou finished. "You can talk about astronomy when you get there."

And so, the group followed the immortal.

…

When the group arrived at a large Japanese-style home, Sakuya sighed in relief. It seemed like she was exhausted.

"Wow…" said Kappa Leviathan. "Kappa Leviathan is impressed!"

Mokou pointed out a door on the building, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"There's the customer entrance, since the place doubles as a pharmacy and clinic. There's no way in hell I'm coming in with you. I wouldn't be able to control myself, and I'd end up wrecking the place with Kaguya. We've got a… history."

And with that, Mokou turned around and walked off, placing her cigarette in her mouth.

"Well, let's go in," Remilia suggested. However, she and Sakuya both paled when they heard an explosion within.

"Thought Mokou left to avoid this possibility," Abathur mused. "Apparently happened anyway."

The front door opened, and four figures exited. The first was a small girl with rabbit ears, about the size of Cirno, wearing a pink dress. She held part of that dress up to her mouth and had her eyes held closed. She was soon followed by a girl with pink hair and more obvious rabbit ears. Her eyes were also shut closed, but she was coughing. The fourth wore an alternating red-and-blue dress with constellations all over and wasn't showing symptoms of breathing in smoke like the other two. The final one was Nitori, who held a hand to her mouth with her eyes open. Smoke poured out the door.

"Nitori?" asked Kappa Leviathan. "Kappa Leviathan wants to know why you're here!"

"Not now!" came the muffled voice of Nitori. "Need to get out, first!"

Abathur turned to the door of Eientei. Just what had happened in there?

…

And that's the beginning of the fourth arc! Something happened in Eientei, and Nitori had something to do with it! And where's Kaguya? How am I going to characterize the Eientei crew? What's going on with the Siege Tank? What's the name of that Tal'Darim guy?

Every single one of those questions will be answered in the next chapter, and there's still more than one chapter left in the arc! Remember to review!


	15. Protoss Up The Night

**Hello, readers.**

**Today, we'll be reading another chapter of **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**. I hope you're all prepared for the Tal'Darim Warrior's name. And why Nitori's at Eientei.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Once the smoke had cleared, the significantly larger group assembled back inside. Despite the explosion, the room (a waiting room, by the looks of things) seemed undamaged.

"Alright, the room has aired out a little," the woman in the constellation-covered dress confirmed. "Feel free to ask your questions now."

"For one, Kappa Leviathan wants to know what Nitori doing here!" Kappa Leviathan demanded.

"Relax," Nitori motioned. "I'm here to examine some of the technology here. Most of the stuff here runs on Lunarian tech, but there are a few devices based on Kappa ingenuity, and I'm here to make sure that they still work."

"Kappa technology, source of explosion?" asked Abathur.

"Well… yeah," Nitori admitted. "But I didn't install it! This one was installed by an old classmate of mine. Graduated at the bottom of our class, even…"

"Well," asked Aya. "Would you care for an interview?"

"No, I wo- _when did you get here?!_" Nitori shrieked.

"I'm the fastest thing in Gensokyo!" Aya grinned. "Of _course_ I can get in undetected!"

"I suppose one more person can't hurt," the pink-haired bunny suggested. "I mean, she's not hurting anyone."

"She could greatly damage our reputation, Udongein," the constellation-clad woman reminded. "She's _Aya_."

"O-oh, right," the bunny sighed.

"I say we let her have full run of the place!" the smaller rabbit suggested.

"Tewi, don't you dare!" the pink-haired one yelled. "Don't even suggest that! What if Aya found the Princess and started saying things like, 'Did you know that Princess Kaguya is a NEET?' I wouldn't be very happy if she started spreading slander like that!"

"Most of Gensokyo already thinks that," the constellation-clad woman reminded. "Much as I would like to change that. Honestly, a woman is unable to leave her own home and people say that she's a NEET. If only everyone in Gensokyo knew how stir-crazy she's gotten…"

"Princess?" Abathur asked.

"Princess Kaguya Houraisan," the woman answered. "By the way- who might you be? In all the confusion, introductions were never made."

"Abathur, Evolution Master of the Swarm," Abathur answered. "Spin strands and sequences, improve Swarm efficiency. Kappa Leviathan, Vampire Ultralisk, bodyguards."

"Ah, yes! You do match the images in the newspaper!" the woman smiled. "I was hoping to ask you a few questions. I'm Eirin Yagokoro, the best medical doctor around. The taller rabbit over there is Reisen Udongein Inaba, and the smaller one is Tewi Inaba. They're the two most important rabbits at Eientei. Where, exactly, are you from?"

"Koprulu Sector," Abathur answered. "Was created on planet Char, species hails from planet Zerus."

"Ah, the Koprulu Sector of space! We've heard of activity going on over there, but we could never pinpoint what it was. I don't recognize the names 'Char,' or 'Zerus,' though. I suppose they must be local names for the planets…" Eirin smiled brilliantly. "I suppose now we know! There was alien activity going on there!"

"Three species dominate Gensokyo in 26th century," Abathur elaborated. "Terrans, Protoss, Zerg. Terrans, hail from this very planet, but mostly live on Korhal. Zerg, hail from Zerus, but mostly live on Char. Protoss, hail from Aiur, but mostly live on Shakuras."

"Interesting…" Eirin noted. "I'll have to ask you about it more in-depth later. For now, Udongein!"

"Yes?!" Reisen immediately jumped up.

"Gather a few chairs! I want this place ready for guests!"

"Y-yes! Right away, miss!" Reisen answered, bounding through the open archway.

"Now," continued Eirin. "We need to discuss what Remilia is here for. I suppose you're here for your usual prescriptions?"

"Yes, of course," Remilia answered. "I need my usual-"

She was cut off by a pair of rabbit-girls, similar in stature to Tewi, throwing the door open.

"Doctor Yagokoro!" one of them yelled. "There's a weird metal creature coming through here!"

Abathur and Remilia looked at each other in understanding, and Aya flew closer to the door.

"Sounds like a scoop!" she grinned, taking out her camera.

"Wait," Abathur implored. "Rumors about metal creatures. Descriptions match those for Terran Siege Tanks. Must exercise caution."

"I can handle myself!" Aya grinned. "Are you worrying about me, Abby? How sweet! You're a good friend!"

At that, Aya shot off into the distance.

"Evolution Master!" Vampire shouted. "We must engage the Siege Tank in combat before it can hurt anyone!

"Kappa Leviathan agrees!" shouted Kappa Leviathan. "Kappa Leviathan and friends need to defeat it! With their power, they can easily do just that!"

"Authorized," Abathur answered. "Will come to judge performance. Good test opportunity. See how Youkai Zerg hold up against Koprulu Sector natives."

"H-hold on!" yelled Reisen, returning through the arch carrying several guns. "I heard noises, so I grabbed some of my favorites!"

This surprised Abathur. Some of those guns were as big as the Terran weapons in the Koprulu Sector, and they were pretty massive, and were aimed at larger people wearing powered armor. So, the fact that this frail, weak-looking girl could carry several at once, having more issues with the sheer number than the weight of them, was impressive, to say the least.

"Could be useful," Abathur noted, turning to Eirin. "Permission?"

"Go on, Udongein," Eirin agreed. "You should be able to handle some human tank. After all, it's just one tank."

Abathur felt like Eirin was underestimating the power of a Siege Tank, but left it alone. His Zerg could take it out easily.

Abathur crawled out the door, beckoning Reisen and his Zerg to follow him.

"She's gonna get herself killed~" noted Tewi.

"Quiet, Inaba," was Eirin's response.

"Yes, ma'am," Tewi sighed.

…

The Tal'Darim Warrior was ecstatic.

He had gone beyond Heaven's Door, and entered The Great Land itself. Sure, some Zerg had infested it, but he wasn't going to let it get in his way. It's not like they had a Hive Cluster here. He could just exterminate every last one, and make The Great Land clean again. He had done some simple target practice with the Siege Tank on some trees earlier, to get a feel for the Terran machine. It was inferior technology to what the Protoss were capable of, but he didn't exactly have something much better. He had no Scout, no Phoenix, no Carrier, no Void Ray- nothing like that. He would have to do with a Siege Tank and his Psi Blades.

And then, like lightning, he found the girl who had ventured beyond Heaven's Door.

She looked like a Terran, but he knew better. She was a creature from beyond the Door, an almighty creature like no other.

She was closely followed by three other creatures with the appearance of Terrans. One of them was another resident of the Door, but the other two were Zerg! They must have been holding the pink-haired one captive, and they must have been coming for the adventurer!

_He would not allow this!_

Bob, the Tal'Darim Zealot, swore his life on protecting the residents of Heaven's Door, and by the Xel'Naga, he would complete his mission! _EN TARO, ADUN!_

…

Aya continued to take pictures of the strange 'Siege Tank', amazed by its appearance. It looked like Kappa technology, but at the same time, it clearly wasn't. It was very, very blue, as well.

However, she was especially shocked when it began to fire! It didn't fire at her, however, confusing her further- until she realized that there were Zerg behind her.

She turned around, and saw Kappa Leviathan and Vampire Ultralisk struggling to stay out of the tank's blast radius. Reisen accompanied them, but didn't need protection in the first place, because it wasn't firing at her either.

"Man, what's this thing's problem!?" asked Vampire. "I mean, I'd understand why a normal Terran wouldn't like Zerg, but this tank's affiliated with Raynor! The Raiders have an alliance with the Swarm… well, even if it is shaky."

"Not to mention, Kappa Leviathan wants to know how it knows we're Zerg!" Kappa yelled. "We look like Terrans, now!... well, aside from Vampire's wings and head spikes, and Kappa Leviathan's tentacles. Those look kinda Zerg-y, Kappa Leviathan guesses."

"Shouldn't you be focusing on surviving right now?!" Reisen cried. "This thing obviously wants you dead, for whatever reason!"

Abathur wasn't far behind, and had to scurry away when the tank attempted to fire at him, too.

"Abby!" Aya yelled. "Hey, mister Tank pilot guy! Don't shoot my friend!"

...

Meanwhile, Abathur hid behind a tree.

"Mister Abathur!" Reisen cried, ducking behind that tree. "That thing's got tougher armor than I thought! What are you going to do about it?!"

"...This," Abathur answered, plucking a hair from Reisen and eating it. "Identifying genetic strands… essence works best with Zergling sequences."

And so, he spun the Moon Rabbit essence into the Zergling sequences.

He needed a lot more forces. Truth be told, he was glad that it matched the Zergling Sequences best. He had the most of them.

…

And there we have it, the Tal'Darim Warrior is a Zealot named Bob.

Bob is a totally ridiculous name, when you consider that most Protoss are called things like 'Zeratul' and 'Selendis' and 'Tassadar.'

Also, he seems to think that Gensokyo is some sort of Xel'Naga holy land. Is he right, or just crazy?

Also- Moon Rabbit Zerglings (Rabbit Zerglings for short). They're a thing now. Woo!

Also, our next intermission is going to be Eirin discussing the Koprulu Sector with Abathur and Kaguya. So, that's something to look forward to.

Remember to review, and I'll see you in the next chapter!


	16. The Siege Tank of Ride

**Hello again, loyal readers! Time to get back to **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**!**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

When Abathur was done applying the essence, he sighed.

"Complete," was his answer. "Zerglings, ready for action. Should be here soon."

"So, w-wait, what did you just do?!" cried Reisen. "Why did you eat my hair?!"

"Doing job," Abathur answered proudly. "Gather essence, spin strands and sequences. Evolve Swarm."

"What does that have to do with eating my hair?!"

"Obvious," he said condescendingly. "Essence, genetic material. Hair, genetic material."

"Wait, you used my DNA to evolve your people!?" yelled Reisen. "I'm somewhat creeped out!"

"Will arrive soon," noted Abathur.

"Stop ignoring me!"

…

Alice Margatroid had come over to the Hakurei Shrine for tea. However, her nice day was ruined by sounds that cracked like thunder, despite the fact that it was a clear, sunny day. Reimu noticed it, too.

"I wish whatever was causing that would stop, Reimu groaned. "It's really distracting."

At that moment, a young-looking brown-haired girl with horns ran through the door.

"Reimu! Reimu!" Suika cried. "There's something going on in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost!"

"Wait, what?" asked Reimu.

"I was walking nearby, and those thunder-y noises were even louder in there than anywhere else! I think there's something going down in there!" Suika shouted. "You should go check it out!"

Alice and Reimu shared an understanding glance before getting up.

"Well," Alice noted. "It seems that there's an incident to solve."

"And what great timing, too," Reimu grinned. "I was hoping to get that thundering to stop."

Alice silently prayed for the safety of whoever was being so loud.

…

Bob continued to fire at the infidel Zerg while avoiding the sacred Residents. If any residents were hurt, his conscience would never heal. He was a Tal'Darim warrior. His duty was to protect Amon and the Residents of the Door, His masters.

However, the one thing that confused Bob was the behavior of the Zerg. They seemed more… self-preserving than before. In the past, Zerg would easily give their lives to complete their goal. This pair was more interested in self-preservation. Not to mention, their purple and red eyes had more life in them than most Zerg.

Not to mention, that sudden banging on the Siege Tank-

Wait.

There was banging on the Siege Tank?

He turned the camera hidden on the cannon so that it was looking behind the tank rather than in front, and found another Resident banging on the tank with a very long stick.

…

"Shut! Up! Shut! Up!" yelled Reimu, continuing to whack the metal creature with her Gohei. "Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on anything with that booming sound?!"

"When did Reimu get here!?" Reisen yelled. "Why doesn't anything make sense anymore?!"

"Reimu came right over when she heard that the source of the noise was here," Alice answered, flying down. "She can be very fast when she's driven. The noises were ruining our tea meeting."

"Siege cannons, that loud?" asked Abathur, poking his head out from behind the trees. "Never noticed."

"You know what this is?" asked Alice.

"Terran Siege Tank," Abathur responded. "Breaker Crucio model. Vehicle from Koprulu Sector."

At that, the Siege Tank began to change.

The treads of the tank separated from the main body and bended, lifting the tank up. Metal bits came off of the top and kept the 'legs' of the tank in place, and the cannon split in two, becoming a much larger cannon.

"Has entered Siege Mode," he sighed. "Much more dangerous enemy."

The cannon swung around and fired again, knocking down the tree that Abathur was hiding behind. He crawled over to another tree, which was again knocked down. Aya ended up flying over and grabbing Abathur, carrying him into the air.

Reimu growled.

However, before she did anything, a group of five appeared, just in the Siege Tank's range. They had pink hair and purple eyes, and had a pair of suspiciously bend-y Zerg spikes on their head. They wore uniforms not unlike Reisen's, except that the dark blues, pinks, and reds were replaced with brown ones with purple details. They were humanoid, but ran on all fours regardless.

The Siege Tank fired, and one of the creatures was incapacitated. However, the other four were smart enough to dodge, and ran in other directions, zigzagging to avoid being hit. All four pounced at the Siege Tank at once, hitting it with their spikes.

Now that they were actually able to get a hit in, the electronic humming of the Siege Tank ceased, and the engine stopped running. The Siege Tank had shut down.

"Terrans, worthless without their technology," Abathur explained. "Should be easy to fight, now."

_Too bad for you, I'm not a Terran!_ a voice reverberated throughout the area. Everyone present felt like the voice was in their minds. Most were confused. The Zerg were terrified.

"Oh, no," one of the new Rabbit Zerglings whimpered. "Please tell me that that's not what I think that is…"

And at that, a strange creature climbed out of the hatch. Reimu was unsure as to what the creature was, but its eyes glowed blue, and it lacked a mouth. The whole creature was strangely grey, and seemed to wear golden armor.

"It is," Vampire groaned. "That's a Zealot!"

_I am not just any Zealot!_ the creature telepathically roared. _I am Bob, a Warrior of the Tal'Darim! And I am here to wipe the Zerg infestation off of the face of the Land Beyond the Door!_

"Zealot?" asked Aya, setting Abathur down.

"Type of Protoss warrior," Abathur answered. "Protoss, mortal enemies of the Zerg Swarm. Tal'Darim, religious fanatics. Wish for the destruction of the Swarm."

"So this is a Protoss…" Reimu noted with amazement.

"Snrrrrk…" Vampire snorted. "Your name's Bob?"

"What's so funny about his name being Bob?" asked Alice.

"Kappa Leviathan says that Protoss usually have names like Artanis, or Raszagal, or Adun. She says Bob is totally anticlimactic compared to those!" giggled Kappa.

_Stop mocking my name!_ the Protoss warrior demanded. _I am a proud warrior of the Tal'Darim!_

"Hold on a minute…" Reimu realized. "You were in the Siege Tank, right? So _you're_ the one responsible for all the noise!?"

_Of course, Great One!_ the Protoss confirmed. _I was hard at work, cleansing the Land Beyond the Door of the Zerg infestation! This is your world, not theirs!_

"So, what you're telling me is…" Reimu growled. "You were causing noises not unlike thunder, which _disturbed_ and _scared_ everyone in Gensokyo, in order to hunt down _my friends_, all in the name of the _people you were disturbing?!_"

_Well… yes?_ he replied nervously. _Why are you so angry?_

"Because you are the biggest idiot in the history of ever!" Reimu yelled. "You're even dumber than the Three Fairies of Light, ya know that?!"

_Have I angered you?_ he asked. _If that is the case, I greatly apologize!_

"Of course you've angered me!" Reimu yelled even louder.

_I will attempt to make it up to you in any way possible, oh Great One!_ Bob cried. _What do you ask of me?_

"Stop attacking my friends, for one," she growled.

_At once, Great One!_ He complied, bowing.

"That's much better."

…

After some explanation of who the Tal'Darim were from Abathur, Reimu was able to convince Bob to leave behind those stupid beliefs. That wasn't practiced in Gensokyo. Since the Tal'Darim seemed to regard the residents of Gensokyo as superior beings, he believed her instantly and asked what he should do.

The group convinced him to convert to Shintoism.

So, Reimu soon left with Bob in tow, and Abathur having one of his Vipers carry the dysfunctional Siege Tank to the Hakurei Shrine. It would stay there, where it wouldn't bother anyone and Reimu could keep an eye on it, making sure that her new alien Kannushi didn't take it for a joy ride. As an added bonus, she really wanted to see Marisa's reaction to the giant Terran death machine parked on her lawn.

In the end, Aya felt that the battle was anticlimactic, but it was still interesting enough and answered enough questions that her readers would still eat it all up. And the one Rabbit Zergling who didn't get out of the way of the Siege Tank fire recovered fully. Abathur was mildly disappointed that they didn't seem to have any Spellcards, but it was better than nothing, and there was strength in numbers. Strength in numbers was practically the motto of the Zerg Swarm.

And he still owed Eirin a discussion about the Koprulu Sector.

So, there was that.

…

And that's the end of our fourth arc! And now, we have Bob, the Shintoist Protoss Kannushi. We're gonna be seeing a lot more of him, whether in a major role or not. I like him. And Bob isn't going to be the last Koprulu native to come to Gensokyo, either.

Remember to review, and I'll see you in the next Intermission!


	17. A History of the Koprulu Sector

**Welcome back, readers! It's time for our fourth Intermission! And, sorry for the wait- this chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it'd be. In fact, since it's so long, you can feel free to skip to the end.**

**Here, Abathur's gonna explain the Great War, Brood War, and Second Great War to Kaguya and Eirin. Sure, the Great Wars were touched upon in the second intermission, but not the Brood War, and this explanation will go into more detail about the wars themselves, rather than how it led to Abathur arriving in Gensokyo.**

**Don't worry; this trend of "Abathur explaining things for the Intermission" will end soon. Our next Intermission will be more "Akyuu explaining things about Abathur," and the next one after that will be "Someone from Gensokyo explaining the history of Gensokyo to Abathur."**

**Before we move on, we have a review from DrLouis:**

**A Tal'Darim Zealot.**

**Named Bob.**

**Converted to Shintoism.**

**I had a great feeling about this arc, but this...completely blew my mind. Where do you come up with this stuff?**

**-Heh, did it blow your mind in a good way or a bad way? In any case, I've got **_**no**_** idea.**

**We've also got **_**two**_** reviews from Car craft (nice username!):**

**Conventional hard drives are obsolete to Terrans. And why are they discussing gameplay concepts like energy?**

**Another couple nitpicks:**

**Mini-leviathans: There's really no advantage in having ones that small.**

**ZvP numbers; in in-universe fights, the difference in numbers are a lot more pronounced, considering zealots can easily win 1v1 against an Ultra, and are hypersonic, Protoss shielding takes C-14 fire with ease, each round carrying the energy of a modern-day tank shell**

**-With the exception of the Mini-Leviathan, those are all very good points! Thank you for pointing them out to me!**

**-In the case of the Mini-Leviathan, though, there are a few advantages. The biggest one doesn't really count, since there's no way in hell Abathur would have predicted it- normal-sized Leviathans wouldn't fit in Gensokyo. As for the things he **_**would**_ **know, there's the second most important one: They're cheaper than normal Leviathans, and have carrying space. Mini-Leviathans were specifically designed to move forces around, like the Dropship, Shuttle, Medivac, and Warp Prism. Since you never actually see that ability in-game, I'm assuming that the Swarm's Overlords have **_**mostly**_** lost the ability to carry troops. There are a few (such as the one Abathur got just before this arc began) that have been around since before Kerrigan's de-infestation and still have that ability, but the new ones have lost it. The Mini-Leviathans are Abathur's answer to that particular problem. Again, thank you for pointing that out. I'll keep it in mind in the future.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Eirin found herself walking down to the Princess's room, knocking on her door.

"Kaguya?" asked Eirin. "We're waiting for you."

The door was instantly thrown open.

"I've been ready for an hour!" Kaguya yelled happily. "Don't you know how exciting this is?! This is proof that alien activity has been going on in the Koprulu Sector! This is big news!"

Kaguya bounded up the stairs, Eirin slowly following with a slight smile. Kaguya hadn't been this excited since the Imperishable Night Incident.

Her thoughts wandered as she climbed back up the stairs. How would Abathur react to that kind of energy? What sort of life existed in the Koprulu Sector, besides humans, Zerg, and Protoss? What kind of history did the three species have? What was a being from the Koprulu Sector doing in Gensokyo?

By the time Eirin was up the stairs, Kaguya was latched onto Abathur's side.

"Really?!" Kaguya asked. "There's a giant portal above Gensokyo and nobody ever noticed!?"

"Completely undetectable," Abathur answered. "Only those who passed through, able to detect it. Pinnacle of Xel'Naga technology."

"Wow!" Kaguya grinned. "To think, we've been here as long as we have, and we never even noticed it! Eirin! He got here through an invisible portal in the sky!"

"Did he?" asked Eirin. "That's interesting."

"More than interesting," Abathur corrected. "Amazing."

"Well," Eirin decided. "What part of the Koprulu Sector would you like to tell us about?"

After thinking for a moment, Abathur spoke up. "Koprulu Sector's wars."

"Ooh!" cried another voice. "I wanna hear more about this story!"

Eirin turned, and sighed when Cirno the Ice Fairy climbed through the window.

"Just this once!" Kaguya warned. "I'll allow it!"

"Yes!" Cirno grinned. "I only heard the bare minimum last time!"

"Alright," Abathur sighed, moving to lean against the corner. "Long story."

…

_In late 24th century, Terrans made first contact with Protoss race. Protoss obliterated Terran colony Chau Sara, due to Zerg infestation on planet. Zerg, have ability to Infest Terran structures and individuals. Leads to high levels of distrust between Terrans and aliens._

_Neighbor colony Mar Sara fears for safety after attack. Terran Confederacy, local government, fails to offer evacuation. Colonial Magistrate Matthew Horner strikes a deal with Sons of Korhal rebel group, offer evacuation for Mar Sara colonists. Magistrate and local marshal James Raynor join Sons of Korhal, meet leader Arcturus Mengsk and second-in-command Sarah Kerrigan. Raynor and Kerrigan start a romance._

_Horner and Raynor accompany Sons of Korhal to planet Antiga Prime. Discover secret Confederation device- Psi-Emitter, machine that lures Zerg to present location. After rescuing Confederate officer Edmund Duke, Sons of Korhal plant Psi-Emitter on Antiga Prime, ruining local Confederate operations by manipulating Zerg. _

_Sons of Korhal move on Confederate core world Tarsonis. Kerrigan successfully plants Psi-Emitter, summoning Zerg and advancing Protoss fleet. Kerrigan protects Zerg from Protoss to allow successful invasion._

_Terran Confederacy is dismantled, but Mengsk and Duke abandon Kerrigan to Zerg. In anger, Horner and Raynor abandon Sons of Korhal, start Raynor's Raiders rebel group._

_After escaping, Mengsk begins ruling as first emperor of Terran Dominion, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk I._

…

"Wait, so they just _abandoned_ Kerrigan?!" Kaguya cried. "That's so cold of them!"

"Indeed," Eirin agreed. "That's rather heartless."

"Mengsk, heartless," Abathur nodded. "Did not care for anyone."

"And what about this Matthew Horner and James Raynor? What happened with them?" asked Eirin.

"Am not finished," Abathur announced. "Continuing on."

"This story's _really_ cool," Cirno grinned even wider.

…

_Overmind, leader of Zerg Swarm, creates new Cerebrate, creatures Overmind works through, tasked with protecting mysterious chrysalis, containing powerful Zerg weapon. Cerebrate lacked name. Will be referred to as 'Hornis' for conveniency's sake. Weapon, designed by me. Cerebrate protects Chrysalis from multiple Dominion forces on Tarsonis._

_Upon return to Char, Chrysalis hatches._

_What is released is Infested Sarah Kerrigan._

…

"Kerrigan?!" Kaguya yells in surprise. "She was _infested?_ And she was a powerful Zerg weapon?!"

"Yeah!" Cirno grinned. "Not only that, but-"

She was cut off by Abathur placing one of his many hands on her mouth. "No spoilers," he warned.

…

_Before release, Kerrigan sent out psionic message to James Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk asking for help. When Raiders and Dominion arrive on planet, find Infested Kerrigan, no longer willing to work with them. _

_Protoss forces arrive on planet. Dark Templar Zeratul attempts to kill Cerebrates. Upon killing Cerebrate Zasz, temporarily links mentally with Overmind. Discovers way to permanently kill Cerebrates. In return, Overmind discovers coordinates of Aiur, Protoss homeworld. Hornis's brood destroys remainder of Zasz's brood. Overmind leaves Kerrigan behind on Char, attempts to go to Aiur._

_Succeeds._

_Cerebrate Hornis clears area for Overmind to land. Overmind begins invasion. Zeratul kills Hornis._

…

"Oh, dear," Eirin said, grimly. "Your people infested a nice girl and invaded five or more worlds? You're not painting a very nice picture of yourself."

"Worked for Overmind," Abathur reminded. "Overmind, not morally correct. Story takes place over four centuries in future. Overmind still exists in present time. Am… protected by Hakurei Barrier."

"The Hakurei Barrier does do a lot of really good stuff," Kaguya admitted. "So, none of this has happened yet?"

"Am from future," Abathur confirmed. "Story takes place in late 25th century. Come from early 26th."

"Interesting," Eirin noted. "Very well. Go on."

…

_Tassadar, Executor of Protoss Golden Armada, disappears. Executor Artanis, elected as his replacement, counseled by Judicator Aldaris. Artanis works with old friend, Praetor Fenix, to retake Antioch._

_Contacted by Tassadar. Tassadar reveals existence of Cerebrates. Artanis, Fenix kill unidentified Cerebrate, but Cerebrate revives. Aldaris exiles Tassadar as traitor._

_Protoss wipe out Zerg at Scion. However, Praetor Fenix, seemingly killed in action._

…

"I didn't hear any of this when you explained this war to me before," Cirno complained. "Did you hold out on me?"

"Incorrect," Abathur answered. "Was not important to arrival in Gensokyo. Part of story, deemed unnecessary."

"So, Fenix was killed _then_?" asked Eirin. "He seemed like a hardy fellow to have survived those battles."

"Indeed," Abathur answered. "Not yet finished."

…

_Aldaris, Artanis arrived on Char. Found Tassadar, working with James Raynor. Artanis disobeyed Aldaris, helped Tassadar find the Dark Templar. Edmund Duke warns against attack. Tassadar, Artanis find and rescue Zeratul._

_Artanis, Tassadar, Zeratul, Raynor return to Aiur. Conclave declared them all traitors. Fenix returns, now Dragoon._

…

"Yay, Fenix!" Cirno cheered. "I knew he would survive!"

Kaguya just glowed at the story.

"It seems that they're easily amused," Eirin noted.

"Fenix, enemy of Zerg," Abathur grumbled slightly.

…

_Attack Conclave in self-defense. Tassadar, horrified. Turns himself in. Dark Templar disappear. Artanis, Fenix, Raynor rescue Tassadar. Are immediately captured again. Rescued by Zeratul._

_Worked together to permanently kill two Zerg broods. Distracted Overmind long enough to begin attack. Was not enough to kill Overmind. Tassadar channels energies of Dark Templar and Khalai; sacrifices himself to destroy Overmind._

_Battle, not yet over. Zerg, leaderless, not powerless. Zerg mindlessly rampage across Aiur. Many Cerebrates, most notably Daggoth, still alive. Kerrigan, still infested. Arcturus Mengsk, still in power._

…

"End of Great War," Abathur finished. "Protoss victorious, but did not have much to celebrate about."

"So, it's not a happy ending," Kaguya sighed.

Abathur could only wonder how she would react to the ending of the Brood Wars. They would be much more depressing to them…

…

_With end of Great War, Brood War begins. In aftermath, Conclave, 70% of Protoss population, slain. Artanis becomes Praetor; Selendis becomes Executor. Artanis, Aldaris, Fenix, Zeratul, Selendis, Raynor evacuate survivors to Dark Templar homeworld Shakuras via Warp Gate._

_Upon arrival, Zerg follow. Dark Templar, Khalai cooperate to destroy Zerg. Raynor, Zeratul stay behind on Aiur to prevent Zerg from coming through Warp Gate._

_Upon return of Zeratul, Dark Templar Matriarch Raszagal arrives. Reunites with Zeratul._

_Raszagal reveals existence of mysterious Xel'Naga temple. Xel'Naga, ancient beings that created Zerg and Protoss before dying out. Xel'Naga temple capable of destroying Zerg when powered by two crystals. Destroy Cerebrates protecting Temple._

_Kerrigan arrives on Shakuras. Raszagal, strangely willing to speak with Kerrigan._

_Kerrigan claimed to be free of Overmind's control with Overmind's death. Claimed that New Overmind was being created by Cerebrates._

_Kerrigan, Zeratul, Artanis, Selendis search for Uraj crystal. Located on Braxis, frigid Dominion world. Recapture Uraj. Prevented from leaving by United Earth Directorate, group of humans born on Earth._

…

"The humans from Earth got to the Koprulu Sector that quickly?!" Kaguya yelled.

"Technology advanced for centuries. FTL technology, improved greatly," Abathur explained. "Continuing."

…

_Protoss, able to beat back UED. Find Khalis crystal on Char. Beat back forces of New Overmind, reclaim Khalis and evacuate quickly._

_Upon return, discover that Aldaris has rebelled. Zeratul, Artanis, Selendis fight Aldaris's forces, confront him. Before explaining motives, killed by Kerrigan. Interference, destroys alliance with Protoss._

_Protoss, use Uraj and Khalis crystals to wipe Shakuras clean of Zerg._

…

"Well, is that good or bad?" asked Kaguya.

"Not important to me," Abathur answered. "After death of Overmind, wandered tunnels of Char, feral. Was not brought back under Zerg control until resolution of Brood War. Continuing."

…

_United Earth Directorate, sought to eradicate Zerg, Protoss, enslave Terrans. Part of story revolves around Captain Andrew Spartan, Admiral Gerard DuGale, Vice-Admiral Alexei Stukov._

_Returned to Braxis, attempted to destroy local Dominion base. Aided by former Confederate lieutenant Samir Duran. Head to Dylarian Shipyards, steal Dominion plans for air fighters. Discovered Psi-Disruptor. DuGale believed it to be threat to plans, ordered it destroyed._

_UED headed to Korhal, Dominion Core World, to attack Dominion. Before killing Arcturus Mengsk, mysteriously rescued by Protoss and Raynor. UED tracks them to Aiur, attempting to warp to Shakuras. Initially successful; Duran unable to hold back Zerg forces. Forced to retreat._

_Duran reveals treachery of Stukov; rebuilt Psi-Disruptor on Braxis. Spartan and Duran, dispatched to execute Stukov. Dying words reveal Duran, infested._

…

"Duran was _infested_?" Kaguya asked.

"Heh!" Cirno laughed. "I knew that. Abathur said that Duran-"

She was once again cut off by Abathur placing a hand on her mouth. She got the message.

…

_UED, use psi-disruptor to kill Cerebrates defending Overmind on Char. Duran reappears, introduces DuGalle to Kerrigan. Kerrigan delivers warning to stay away._

_UED use powerful drugs and psionics to pacify and control Overmind._

_Zerg, in disarray. Protoss, counting losses. Dominion, reeling. Raiders, in bad position. UED has successfully invaded Koprulu Sector._

…

"Okay, that's definitely not a happy ending!" Kaguya cried.

"Worrying, unnecessary," Abathur reassured. "Brood War, not over. Second Great War, still has yet to happen."

…

_Kerrigan hides on Tarsonis, former confederate homeworld, with Duran, unnamed Cerebrate. Will refer to cerebrate as Selenpartan for sake of conveniency._

_Kerrigan formed shaky alliance with Mengsk, Raynor, Fenix. All four leaders wished for destruction of UED. Kerrigan wanted control of Swarm. Mengsk wanted reestablishment of Dominion. Raynor and Fenix wanted war to end._

_Mengsk provided Psi Emitters. Raynor destroyed weak defenses of Psi-Disruptor on Braxis, Kerrigan planted psi-emitter. Kerrigan's Swarm destroys Psi-Disruptor._

_Fenix and Selenpartan work to gather resources on Moria, infest many Terran Command Centers._

_Kerrigan, Selenpartan, Duran, Raynor, Mengsk, Fenix retake Korhal, push UED back to Char._

_Kerrigan, suddenly turns on allies. Kills many Protoss, Terrans. Deaths include Edmund Duke, Praetor Fenix. Raynor declares he will kill Kerrigan._

…

"Fenix died again?!" Kaguya yelled. "He's gonna come back again, right? He didn't die the first time, so he can't have died the second time! He's too strong for that!"

Abathur shook his head.

"Fenix, truly dead this time. Did not survive attack from Swarm," he answered.

Cirno began to tear up.

"And he seemed so cool… Why'd the Zerg go and do that?!"

"Will repeat," Abathur sighed. "Was not present in Swarm during Brood War."

…

_Kerrigan, soon attacked by UED Zerg. Duran realized that Tarsonis Zerg, controlled by local UED scientists. Duran, Selenpartan kill scientists. Zerg, return to Swarm._

_Kerrigan reveals control over Matriarch Raszagal. Duran, Selenpartan destroy Pylons on Shakuras to distract Protoss long enough for Kerrigan to spirit away Raszagal._

_Raszagal convinces Zeratul, other Dark Templar to assist in death of New Overmind. Zeratul personally deals killing blow. Matriarch reveals to Zeratul corruption from Kerrigan. _

_Zeratul, other Protoss attempt to bring Raszagal back to Shakuras. Selenpartan destroys Protoss and remaining UED forces. In desperation, Zeratul kills Raszagal. Raszagal's dying words reveal Kerrigan no longer controlled her. Raszagal left Dark Templar in Zeratul's hands. Kerrigan, impressed, lets Zeratul and remaining Protoss leave for Shakuras._

_Zeratul discovers horrifying Protoss/Zerg hybrids, created by Duran, on dark moon. Duran claims to serve higher power, be millennia old. Zeratul destroys Hybrids._

_Duran, mysteriously disappears. Three forces converge to destroy Kerrigan- Terran Dominion, Protoss Golden Armada, UED Fleet. Kerrigan destroys them all._

_UED leaves in full retreat. Admiral DuGalle commits suicide. Zerg Swarm, fully controlled by Kerrigan, destroys most of UED. Scattered pockets remain in Koprulu Sector. Andrew Spartan and other surviving UED officers form Spartan Company mercenary group. Kerrigan personally slays Selenpartan, last Cerebrate; replaces Cerebrates with Brood Mothers, most notably Brood Mother Zagara. Creates Izsha, memory device. Recovers me, re-integrates into Swarm. Artanis, Mengsk return to Shakuras, Korhal, rebuild their civilization. Raynor, Kerrigan, go into hiding. Brood Wars, over._

…

"That's even sadder than the Great War's ending and the UED's invasion combined!" Kaguya cried. "What kind of horrors happened in these wars?!"

"Worrying, unnecessary," Abathur reassured, noting that he said this already. "Second Great War, much more optimistic outcomes. For now."

"What do you mean, 'for now'?" asked Eirin, who had remained quiet for a while.

"Second Great War, still in progress," Abathur answered. "Purpose for being in Gensokyo."

"Wait, you're in Gensokyo for the war?" asked Kaguya. "Why?"

"Observe Vampire Ultralisk, Kappa Leviathan, Moon Zerglings. Examples of purpose in Gensokyo."

"I don't know what those are," Kaguya complained.

"They're like crosses between Zerg and Youkai," Eirin explained. "Or, in the case of the Moon Zerglings, Udongein."

"Oh!" Kaguya realized. "You're here to make the Zerg stronger!"

"Correct," Abathur explained. "In present time, much greater enemy is present. Getting to that now."

…

_Four years after end of Brood War, Raynor comes out of hiding. Liberates Mar Sara from Dominion control. Meets with old friend Tychus Findlay. Findlay explains existence of Xel'Naga artifacts, sought after by Mobius Foundation. Raiders steal Xel'Naga artifact from Dominion._

_Zerg Swarm, suddenly reappears, attacks Mar Sara. Raynor, Tychus hold out until arrival of Horner, bringing rescue. Horner reveals Zerg are attacking all over Koprulu Sector, Kerrigan has come out of hiding. Second Great War, officially begun._

_Raiders technology, upgraded by Rory Swann, Egon Stetmann. Mercenaries, provided by Graven Hill._

_Raynor goes to planet Agria, evacuates local colonists abandoned by Dominion. Includes Doctor Ariel Hanson. Uses abandoned bunkers and escort teams to protect colonists from Zerg. Hanson joins crew._

_Soon after, accompanies Findlay in acquiring a second artifact on Tal'Darim planet Monolyth. Tal'Darim, fanatical Protoss movement. Today's attack, started by Tal'Darim warrior. Zerg, also present at Monolyth, seeking artifact. Three-way battle commences. Raynor takes artifact and retreats._

_Meets Gabriel Tosh, anti-Dominion pirate. Assists him in collecting Jorium crystals on planet Redstone. Tosh joins crew._

_Horner reports Dominion movement on Tarsonis. Robs trains, discovers Confederate Adjutant. Adjutants, robotic consorts for most Terrans. Adjutant refuses to speak to Raynor. Suggests anti-Dominion hacker Colonel Orlan._

_Agrian colonists, relocated to Meinhoff. Outbreak of Infested Terrans occurs. Raiders hold out at night, destroy buildings by day. Evacuate survivors once again._

_Accompanies Findlay to Xil, dead Xel'Naga world. Use Drakken laser drill, pierce Temple doors, retrieve artifact. _

_Raynor contacted by Zeratul. Gives him Ihan memory crystal, containing memories of Zeratul. Raynor reads crystal._

_On Ulaan, Zeratul discovers ancient prophecy. Kerrigan, also interested in prophecy. Works to escape from her. Succeeds._

_Arrived on Zhakul, felt that Protoss Preservers could interpret prophecy. Arrived, found Hybrid Maar who froze Preservers, controlled local guardians. Defeat Maar, free Preservers. Interpret prophecy- Fallen creature will destroy universe._

_Returns to Aiur to seek clarity from Overmind's final thoughts. Fight past feral Zerg, arrives at Overmind's nervous system. Discovers Tassadar._

…

"You mean, his body?" asked Cirno.

"Incorrect," Abathur answered. "Tassadar's body, destroyed in sacrifice. Tassadar, ascended to higher plane of existence. Remains on Aiur."

…

_Tassadar shows Zeratul Overmind's vision of future. Terrans, all dead. Zerg, all working for Hybrids. Protoss, make final stand against Fallen Xel'Naga, Amon. Protoss all gather on distant, shadowed world. Make final stand._

_All remaining Protoss, fight valiantly. Zeratul, Selendis, Artanis all present._

_All Protoss die._

_Hybrids kill all Zerg, steal their essence. All three races, now extinct._

…

"Wait, but if all three races died, how come you're telling us this story right now?" asked Cirno.

"Because it was a vision of the future," Eirin explained. "That is what you said, right?"

"Correct," Abathur answered. "Must not let this future come to pass."

…

_Raynor finishes reading memories. Realizes that this future will come if Kerrigan dies. Moves on._

_Colonel Orlan finishes decrypting Adjutant. Decides to sell it to Dominion instead of Raiders. Raiders work with Mira's Marauders, mercenary group led by Mira Han, wife of Horner, to destroy Orlan's base. Orlan surrenders, returns Adjutant. Han puts Orlan in stasis in case he is needed again. Raynor discovers Adjutant contains evidence of Mengsk's war crimes, is responsible for creation of Infested Kerrigan._

_Tosh reveals existence of Terrazine Gas on Bel'Shir. Bel'Shir, Tal'Darim world. Raiders recover Terrazine, give to Tosh to sell._

_Agrian Colonists move to Haven. Lose contact with Raiders. Worries Hanson. Contacted by Selendis. Explains that Colonists are Infested. Hanson pleads with Raynor to hold out until cure is developed. Raynor reluctantly sides with Selendis, infuriates Hanson. Locks herself in Hyperion lab. Raynor kills all Infested Terrans, gets call from Stetmann. Hanson still locked into lab. Raynor returns to Hyperion, breaks into lab. Discovers Hanson, infested. Kills Hanson._

_Findlay loses contact with Mobius Foundation. Raiders go to Tyrador IV, Foundation headquarters. Discover Zerg attack, led personally by Kerrigan. Destroy data cores before Kerrigan can read them. Rescue Emil Narud, leader of Mobius Foundation. _

_Raiders discover experimental Odin walker at Valhalla. Steal it, destroy local Dominion base to prevent Dominion from knowing about theft._

_Immediately go to Korhal. Odin, returned to Dominion, with Findlay within. Use Odin and other Raider forces to upload proof from Adjutant to Dominion News Network. Mengsk, still in power, but greatly crippled. Raiders discover Dominion research facility on Castanar Platform._

_At Castanar platform, Raynor discovers powerful Hybrid. Barely escapes. Is convinced that Mengsk has his hands in Armageddon prophecy._

_Raynor comes to New Folsom prison. Dominion covert operative, Nova, explains Tosh's treachery. Raynor continues to side with Tosh. Breaks friends of Tosh out of New Folsom._

_Raynor accompanies Findlay to Typhon VI, where fourth Xel'Naga Artifact lies. Nearby star begins to go Nova. Raiders retrieve artifact from Tal'Darim and retreat before star obliterates them and planet. Raiders schedule meeting with Foundation- met by Dominion battlecruisers, including imperial flagship Bucephalis. Discover that Mengsk is not aboard- son, Valerian Mengsk, is._

…

"Mengsk had a _son_?!" Cirno cried. "Since when?!"

"Since before Great War," Abathur deadpanned. "Valerian, young adult. Old enough to captain Battlecruiser on his own.

"Interesting," Eirin noted. "Go on."

…

_Valerian proposes deal with Raynor. Xel'Naga artifacts, when all assembled, have ability to de-Infest Kerrigan. Combined Dominion, Raider force, attack Char._

_Raiders, attack derelict Xel'Naga ship. Contains final Artifact piece. Defended by Tal'Darim. Retrieve piece, defeat Tal'Darim._

_Raiders, half of Dominion Fleet go to Char. Raynor introduced to General Horace Warfield._

_Almost all of shared fleet, destroyed before reaching surface._

_Raiders rescue Warfield, establish foothold. Raynor, Findlay, Swann, Stetmann go underground and flood Nydus Tunnels with lava, making it impossible to use Nydus Worm transports._

_Raiders, Dominion successfully activate Xel'Naga artifact, de-infest Kerrigan._

_Rescue Kerrigan, returned to Terran state. Leaderless Swarm is scattered. First part of war, complete._

…

"So, Kerrigan's human again?" asked Kaguya, beginning to calm down. "That's interesting…"

"I knew that!" Cirno cheered triumphantly. "He told me this already!"

"Still more to go," Abathur reminded. "Continuing."

…

_Soon after, Mengsk demanded Kerrigan turned in, executed. Valerian knew about prophecy, refused. Narud turned on Raiders, stole Xel'Naga artifact, gave to Mengsk. Valerian, Raiders successfully bring Kerrigan to Umojan Protectorate, peaceful Terran organization._

_Dominion finds Kerrigan, attacks. Kerrigan, Raynor, Valerian escape from Umojan facility. Raynor, caught. Declared executed._

…

"Now _Raynor's_ dead?" asked Kaguya. "I thought you said this one was happier."

"Happier," Abathur explained. "Not necessarily happy. Not as sad as it seems."

…

_Out of revenge, Kerrigan declares war on Mengsk. Returns to Swarm, takes control despite Terran status. Meets me, Izsha once again._

_Travels to Kaldur, cold planet. Seeks renegade Brood Mother; finds Protoss expedition. Kills all Protoss before they can inform Golden Armada of Kerrigan's presence._

_Meets Zeratul. Explains prophecy. Urges her to travel to Zerus, Zerg homeworld._

_Goes to Zerus, awakens ancient Zerg Zurvan. Enters first Zerg Spawning Pool; comes out Terran/Zerg hybrid. Not infested Terran. Something greater. Recruits Pack Leader Dehaka._

_Returned to Char, recruited Brood Mother Zagara, killed Warfield. Discovers Raynor, alive._

_Was contacted by mysterious informant. Arrived at Skygierr Platform, met informant in question- Vice-Admiral Alexei Stukov, from UED._

…

"Wait," paused Kaguya. "I thought he was dead?"

"Was," Abathur confirmed. "Corpse infested. Returned him to life."

"That's weird," Cirno narrowed her eyes. "You can bring people back to life by infesting them?"

"Correct," Abathur answered. "Continuing."

…

_Entered Skygierr platform, discovered unsettling news- Hybrids were present in lab. Created by Narud. Protected by Tal'Darim. Narud himself, ancient shapeshifter working for Amon, same 'Fallen Xel'Naga' prophecy predicted would end the world, same creature Duran worked for. Narud fought Kerrigan. Kerrigan won. Narud claimed Amon had been resurrected before dying._

_Kerrigan contacted Horner, Valerian. Revealed Raynor was still alive. Horner stole Orlan back from Han. Orlan found Raynor._

_Kerrigan rescued Raynor. Raynor, disgusted by Kerrigan's actions. Kerrigan dismayed._

_Kerrigan attacks Korhal. Makes me create Bile Launchers to defend Zerg. Raynor realizes Kerrigan, still Terran Kerrigan. Assists her in attacking Korhal._

_Kerrigan, Raynor kill Mengsk. Valerian becomes Emperor Valerian Mengsk I, turns Dominion around._

_Kerrigan, Raynor, continue to seek various Xel'Naga artifacts to use against Amon._

_Arrived in Gensokyo using one such artifact. Now caught up to present time. Second Great War, still in progress._

…

"Interesting," Kaguya noted, now completely calm. "So, this 'Second Great War' is still ongoing, and you're here to gather weapons to use against this Amon. Fascinating."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Cirno grinned. "So the Zerg aren't evil after all! You just used to be!"

"Was never evil," Abathur grumbled. "Only followed evil individuals."

"That's true, I suppose," Eirin agreed. "Since you seem to have a sort of hive mind to you."

"Well," Kaguya got up. "I suppose that's enough for now. That was a long story. You should know, though, that you're always welcome to come to Eientei and tell us more."

"Will do," Abathur answered. "Must be going."

"And you," Eirin turned, glaring at Cirno. "You've outstayed your welcome. Leave."

"A-ah!" Cirno yelped, clinging onto Abathur. "Okay, okay!"

Abathur would have chuckled if he could. Gensokyo was a great place. He only hoped that his essence-gathering was the full extent of Amon's influence on it.

…

Yamame Kurodani wandered the underground, looking for what could make a good dinner, when she heard a strange sound. It sounded like… somebody struggling.

"Kisume?" she asked. "Is that you?"

No answer.

She walked over to the source of the noise, and found an incredibly tiny cave blocked by a pair of boulders.

She pushed as hard as she could, getting the boulders out of the way, before finding a small lantern Tsukumogami.

"Who're you?" asked Yamame.

"I-I'm Juri Yan," she whimpered. "Please, help me!"

...

…

…

…

Good _god_ that was a long as all hell chapter. What the hell was I thinking, going into that much detail to explain the Great Wars and the Brood War?! I'm _never_ going to do an Intermission this long again. I think it's as long as an entire arc. Jesus christ.

...Anyways, remember to review, and I'll see you in the next arc! Hopefully.


	18. Overly Defensive Scam

**Hello, and welcome back to Gensokyo's Heart!**

**I forgot to mention it in the last Author's Note, but I used a lot of fanon in that last chapter. I used the ever-popular 'The Magistrate (Episode I) is Matt Horner' and 'The Executor (Episode IV) is Selendis' theories, even though the former has been personally debunked by Blizzard. It's canon that the Executor (Episode III) was Artanis and that the Cerebrate (Episode II) died, and it's pretty easy to tell that the Cerebrate (Episode VI) died. As for the Captain (Episode V) starting the Spartan Company, I came up with that one myself. I thought it was more interesting than saying that they died, like everyone else, and also gave another link between Brood War and SCII (after all, it is canon that the Spartan Company is made up of the remnants of the UED). It wasn't originally my plan, but I think I want for the Spartan Company to have some major plot involvement in the future. Not for a long time, though. It'll be a while until things in the Koprulu Sector start being important for reasons other than "Stuff from the Koprulu Sector ends up in Gensokyo."**

**Anyways, here's Chapter 18 (wow, that far in already?).**

**A review from Palver7:**

**It was a good recap nonetheless. I read somewhere that the official canon end for the destroy infested terran colony campaign is Hanson survived because Raynor sided with her instead of Selendis. Are you going to change this part if future Starcraft reveals this is the case?**

**-Well, I've already contested canon by saying that Matt Horner and the Magistrate are the same person, so, no. I actually didn't know that bit about Hanson, but I did suspect it. Although, in general, the fact that you choose which missions to do, yet Blizzard decided which ones were canon, is dumb. I think they were trying to do something like what **_**Mass Effect**_** does, but they gave up.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur awoke to find that he was surrounded. Surrounded by four former Zerglings with pink hair, all snuggled up against him. The fifth was sleeping across Vampire Ultralisk.

He slowly rose, one Zergling slowly falling off his back, and crawled over to the door controls. He opened the door, letting the sunlight flood in. He stretched all six of his arms, as well as all four of his tendrils. The eight claws on his mouth wiggled slightly, and his mouth, sacs, and eyes continued to glow their normal green.

He noticed a feather fall onto the door, and exited. Upon looking up, he found that Aya Shameimaru was sleeping on the roof of the Hercules.

The Zergling that fell off of Abathur's back slowly rose, rubbing her eyes and shuffling over to Abathur, seeming to still be half-asleep. Abathur paid no mind to the girl, continuing to stare at Aya and consider how to wake her up.

Before he could, though, Aya awoke on her own, noticing the two Zerg staring at her.

"Ugh," Aya groaned. "What're you two doing?"

"Watching," Abathur answered. "Confused."

"What'cha doing on top of the Hercules?" the Zergling asked, slowly getting more alert.

"I was waiting for you guys," Aya yawned, stretching. "You're still on your tour around Gensokyo, right?"

"More complex than that," he grumbled. "Otherwise correct."

"Great!" she grinned. "Because there's a whole other side of Gensokyo that you haven't even been to!"

"Oh, really?" asked the Zergling. "What place is that?"

Aya grinned.

"The underground."

…

"You want to take him to the _underground?_" asked Reimu. "Hell no. I've had enough of that place for a whole decade."

Aya and Abathur had come to the Hakurei Shrine to determine how to get down to the underground. Aya sighed at Reimu's answer, while Abathur was less obvious in his disappointment.

In the background, Suika was playing around on the Siege Tank's main cannon, as Bob tried to get her down. Alice simply watched, yelling at Bob whenever he tried to activate his Psi-Blades.

"Could have valuable essence," Abathur argued. "Useful for Swarm adaptation."

"There's all kinds of Youkai up here, too," Reimu grumbled. "Look, I've got enough on my plate with just _Suika_. There are even _more_ Oni down there, and quite frankly, they're all really annoying and obnoxious."

"You don't have to come!" Aya grinned. "I'm sure Suika and Bob would be more than willing to come join us!"

"Bob doesn't go anywhere that I don't go!" yelled Reimu. "I don't completely trust him yet, and until I do, he's not leaving my sight!"

_Underground?_ asked the Tal'Darim in question. _There could be all sorts of things down there! In the Koprulu Sector, all of the best minerals could be found underground, not to mention that most of the Sector's most powerful Xel'Naga artifacts are found in caves and dig sites!_

"See?!" grinned Aya. "He seems really pumped about it! It'd be cruel not to let him go!"

"I… but… urgh," Reimu sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll come with you if Bob's going."

"Wherever Reimu goes, I go!" Alice piped up from her chair. "And I'm sure Suika wants to go, too!"

"Alice is right on the ball!" Suika cheered, still sitting on top of the Siege Tank. "I wanna go see Yuugi!"

Bob thrusted his fist into the air.

_Then let us go! En Taro Adun!_

…

The measly group assembled at the blowhole. In addition to those present at the Hakurei Shrine, Abathur had brought over Kappa Leviathan, the Zergling who helped him wake up Aya, and the Hydralisk, just in case. This meant that the assembled group was nine creatures in total.

"Are we all ready?" asked Reimu. "The underground's a big place. I don't wanna go down there and find that one of you has changed their mind."

_I shall not falter, Great One!_ Bob yelled. _I will do only what is required to increase the quality of life!_

"Doesn't make this any less annoying," she sighed. "All right. Aya, you'll take Abathur, Kappa, you'll take the other Zerg."

"Got it!" grinned Aya, wrapping her arms around Abathur's chest. Kappa Leviathan did the same thing with the Hydralisk.

_I cannot fly!_ Bob announced.

"Of course," she sighed. "Suika?"

"I'd be happy to!" Suika grinned, climbing onto Bob's shoulders.

And so, the group flew down the hole.

…

Satori Komeiji sighed. She herself had not seen the cause of her grief, but she had seen it in the minds of enough people. There was an invader from above.

The problem wasn't that they were from above. That didn't bother her at all. She was totally fine with visitors.

The problem was that _this_ particular visitor was being a menace.

Juri Yan, a Lantern Tsukumogami. She participated in the Zerus Incident a week prior, and put up quite a fight due to her unconventional bullet patterns based around quality rather than quantity.

That didn't matter right now.

What mattered was how horrible she was being.

She would lure Youkai to her with whimpering and other pathetic noises. Some wanted to help. Some wanted to steal her money. Some just thought she would make an easy meal.

But then, just as they were about to help/steal/eat, she stole an item precious to them and ran off with it. Usually money, or some form of identification. Occasionally, though, she would steal something much more valuable, such as a key, or a weapon. Even Mizuhashi felt enough pity for her to fall for the scam, and ended up losing an Outside World weapon that fell on her head one day.

However, something Satori was not expecting to happen that day occurred next. It wasn't common for her to not expect something.

Reimu Hakurei walked through her front door, followed by eight others. Most of them looked normal, with the exception of three- one of them had no mouth and grey skin, while the other two had unconventional mouths, brown skin, and exoskeletons. A quick glance into their mind was in order.

She soon found that the minds of the two brown creatures were identical- some kind of hive-mind, most likely. The other's mind… it was blocked to her. Something protected his thoughts from her. And that didn't sit right with her.

In any case, she knew who he was from the memory of the other creatures.

"Hakurei," Satori greeted. "And I see you've brought guests. Hello, Alice, Aya Suika, Abathur, Bob."

Bob stopped.

_How does this one know my name?_ he broadcasted.

"She's a mind-reader," Reimu grumbled. "She probably read your mind."

"I actually read _Abathur's_ mind, but close enough," Satori answered. "Something's preventing me from reading Bob's own mind."

"Khala, most likely source of interference," Abathur speculated. Satori nodded.

"I agree. This 'Khala' is a sort of psychic connection, and it's already known to prevent the Zerg from infesting them. It makes sense that it would block me from reading their minds."

"In any case," Alice interrupted. "We're down here for a reason. Suika wants to go see Yuugi, and Abathur and Bob want to see what stuff they can find down here. Is that all alright?"

"Of course it is," Satori answered. "I'd like to take a closer, in-person look at the Hydralisk, though."

Without a word, the Zerg creature in question slithered over. Its mandibles opened and closed like it was panting, its scythe-arms stayed pointed down, and it was drooling. It had purple eyes, but Satori knew that in the recent past, those eyes had been orange. It had been fully cleansed of Amon's influence.

"It looks like it might have made a nice pet," Satori observed. "If it weren't a Zerg killing machine, that is."

The Hydralisk's thoughts were clear: _Belongs to me. Not yours._ The fact that it shared thoughts with Abathur was mildly jarring. It was as if the Hydralisk didn't know it was a Hydralisk, although to be fair, the comparison wasn't far off from the truth.

"Belongs to me. Not yours," Abathur vocalized his thoughts. "Hydralisk sequences, best work. Proud. _Do not take_."

It only took a brief peek into his memories to see that the only time Abathur had ever gotten truly angry was when the 'Primal' Zerg stole his Hydralisk designs, even though they clearly also stole his Roach designs.

_Primal Zerg. Unacceptable. Must be wiped clean. No trace left. Destroy Primal Zerg._

_What are you talking about?_

_Saw ranged Primal Zerg creatures on battlefield? Based on Hydralisk! Primal Zerg stole design from Swarm! Swarm on planet for hours, days, already being replicated!_

_Abathur. Are you upset?_

_Unacceptable! Swarm's power, ability to assimilate strengths! Primal Zerg, must not take from us!_

_Don't worry about it. They'll be on our side before I'm done here._

Satori never liked looking at memories of people when they were upset. It clouded her own judgment. If they were upset enough, it was difficult to tell her feelings apart from theirs.

She returned her attention to now, before she lost herself.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to take it," she responded. "I simply find it to be a magnificent creature. My compliments to the geneticist."

Abathur seemed taken aback, and his thoughts betrayed that he liked the praise. It seemed like she could easily get him to do whatever she wanted if she buttered him up enough. She wouldn't do that, though. She wasn't that manipulative.

"In any case," she smiled, a rare sight. "Welcome to the underground, even though you've already been through a large part of it just to get here."

…

Oops, that chapter went on a little longer than I intended. Writing from the POV of a psychic is fun. I should do it more often.

Anyways, our fifth arc has begun, and we're underground! Yippee! We're finally done with that overly-long Intermission! Our next intermission's gonna be really short, I promise.

Remember to review!


	19. Three Legs

**Welcome back to **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**! And now that we're past that dumb intermission, I seem to be getting back into the swing of things.**

**In other news, whenever I check the views for each chapter, the first chapter always has hundreds more views than any of the others. I get the feeling that I'm scaring a lot of people away with the 'Abathur isn't evil here' thing. Maybe I should just remove it. His non-evilness isn't too noticeable here, and his evilness in canon is debatable.**

**Eh, I'll leave it in for now. It'd make the story's first (and so far only) guest review make no sense.**

**Anyways, it's time to get on with the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Utsuho "Okuu" Reiuji was very busy. The nuclear reactor didn't monitor itself, you know. Not to mention, she was working overtime now, since she also kept watch on the Zerus Generator.

The Zerus Generator was especially strange. It used a form of nuclear fusion and fission that she was unfamiliar with. It was _undoubtedly_ fusion and fission, but it was still different.

So, she concentrated. She wanted to do other things, she really did, but her work was top-priority. It always was. If she failed, Gensokyo could be ruined.

And so, she failed to notice the small robotic drone enter the chamber. After all, she was on the lookout for organic contaminants, not robotic ones. They couldn't do damage, from her perspective.

And that's when the robotic drone snagged a spare of Third Leg.

And Okuu didn't even notice. After all, she still had the original.

…

Abathur found himself in a long, disturbingly straight cave. It reminded him of the tunnels of Char.

Of course, unlike his feral phase, he wasn't alone here. Aside from those who accompanied him, Satori was the one who had led them in, and there was another Youkai already present in the cave. She had red hair done into twin-tails, and she had cat ears and a cat tail that split in two.

And she was surrounded by floating, burning skulls.

Abathur had to make sure that he wasn't seeing things.

"Kappa Leviathan likes your hair!" Kappa Leviathan complimented.

"Thanks!" the girl returned, pushing her wheelbarrow off to the side before turning to Satori. "Master Satori, do you need something?"

"We'd like to go see Utsuho," Satori commanded. "I'd like to show them the nuclear reactor before we go see the rest of the underground."

"Can do, Master!" the girl answered. "To the new people, hi! I'm Rin Kaenbyou, a Kasha!"

"She carts the souls of the dead around," Aya explained.

"It doesn't matter what I do right now, what matters now is that you guys get to Okuu!" Rin grinned. "C'mon! I know these tunnels like the back of my hand!"

Very much like how Abathur knew the tunnels of Char like the back of his hand.

"Evolution Master," the Zergling whispered. "I don't like this place. It's dark, and it's not homely like Char… it feels like a Terran base."

Abathur simply ruffled her hair slightly before turning away. He'd learned quickly that the action calmed the Moon Zerglings.

Rin grabbed her cart once more and yelled, "Follow me!" before running down the tunnels. The whole group of ten followed.

…

_This place is huge!_ announced Bob. _This is likely the biggest place I've seen in The Beyond!_

"You've never been anywhere other than the forest or the Shrine," Reimu pointed out. "There are plenty of places bigger than the reactor in Gensokyo. There's the SDM, there's Hakugyokurou, there's Eientei, there's Mugenkan, and a whole slew of bigger places. This place's size isn't what's impressive about it."

"Indeed, it isn't," Satori agreed. "What's impressive is-"

"_MASTER!_" shouted another girl, this one black-haired and with a green ribbon. Her feet were especially strange- one was coated in iron, and the other seemed to be the nucleus of a ball-sized atom.

"Yes?" asked Satori. "What is it, Utsuho?"

"I- I've lost the spare to Third Leg!" she cried. "What would happen if Third Leg broke?!"

"Calm down, Utsuho," Satori sighed. "Where did you last see Third Leg?"

"Well, I've still got Third Leg!" Utsuho clarified. "It's over there!"

She pointed at an orange cannon resting against a console.

"The problem is the spare! It usually rests in the same place as Third Leg, but when I finished work today, it was gone! I've been looking all over for it! I can't find it anywhere in the whole reactor!"

"This is a predicament," Satori agreed. "I'm sure Kanako and the Kappa could-"

"Nitori has a name, you know," Alice cut off. So, Nitori was involved here, too? She seemed to have her hands in everything, Abathur thought.

"Do not know entity Kanako," Abathur spoke up. "Wish to know."

"Kanako's a Goddess," Reimu answered. "Goddess of Wind and Rain. I'm reasonably sure you can't get any essence out of her. She lives with another Goddess, Suwako, and Sanae. Sanae's descended from Suwako by… well, Suwako's her ancestor, anyways."

"Now's not the time for exposition!" Rin yelled.

"I personally don't care one way or the other," Suika piped up, having been silent this whole time. "I just wanna go see Yuugi. Can I go, now?"

"You'd just get lost in the tunnels," Satori countered. "And I need Rin here looking for this damn Third Leg… oh, no."

"What?" asked Reimu. "What's wrong?"

"The scam," Satori sighed. "It's getting worse. This lantern tsukumogami- the same one who participated in the Zerus Incident, Juri Yan- she's been going around the underground and stealing people's possessions. Usually, she lures people to her by whimpering and acting pathetic before stealing their things, but sometimes she does something different. She could have something to do with this."

"Then, that means that we'll need someone to go check it out!" Suika grinned. "Which means that _I can go back and see Yuugi._"

Satori nodded.

"We'll need to send most of you back. Utsuho, you'll stay here and keep looking."

Utsuho sniffled. "Yes, Master."

"Rin, you're bringing the rest of us back to the city," Satori continued.

"Yes, ma'am!" Rin grinned.

"Kappa Leviathan, Moon Zergling," Abathur spoke up. "Remain. Assist."

"Kappa Leviathan follows her orders, and wants the Evolution Master to know that!" Kappa Leviathan saluted before flying off.

"A-ah, of course, Evolution Master," the Zergling agreed, scurrying off.

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Anybody else staying behind?" she asked.

_I will go wherever needed!_ Bob responded. _Right now, it sounds like I am not exactly needed here! I will follow!_

"Alright, then," she said, turning around. "Now, it's time to go back."

And so, she ran off again.

…

Parsee Mizuhashi sighed. She was the most bored she'd ever been.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was jealous of whatever thief took her mysterious "revolver." It served as a great distraction from whatever she was upset about, and she was often upset. It came with being the personification of jealousy.

But that quickly went to the back of her mind. Somebody was on her bridge. She scrambled to get up and run into the middle, blocking anyone from passing.

However, who she saw were the most ragtag bunch of misfits she'd ever seen in her life.

In the front was that Abathur person(?) who'd been the talk of all of Gensokyo lately. Following him were the Shrine Maiden, Satori Komeiji, and a bunch of people she didn't recognize.

"Halt," she commanded. "Why do you need to go past the bridge?... And how come you're coming from that side?"

"We already passed," Reimu explained. "You looked busy."

"You… You _what?_" asked Parsee, fuming a little. "You took advantage of my distraction?"

"More than distracted," Abathur clarified. "Appeared to be depressed."

"...Yeah, I'll give you that," Parsee admitted. "So, you're Abathur, right?"

_Another mind reader?_

The _hell_? That voice came from within her mind, but it definitely wasn't her thinking!

"No, Abathur's just a bit of a local celebrity," a crow-girl answered. "I'm pretty sure Satori knew about him before she read his mind."

"Not exactly," Satori admitted. "I've been paying more attention to affairs down here, honestly."

"In any case," Reimu spoke up. "We came to ask you about something."

"The thefts?" asked Parsee. "Yeah, I know something."

Before Parsee could clarify, a boisterous shout rang out through the underground.

"Give me back my shackles, you damn thief!"

"That sounded like Yuugi!" yelled the Oni with them. "Let's go!"

The group ran off, and Parsee spotted Abathur picking out one of Satori's hairs and eating it.

Gross.

…

And that's it for chapter 19! Up next, chapter _20_! Whoo! I'm going through this story awfully fast!

However, I regret to say that the updates are slowing slightly from here until summer. I'll still update relatively fast, but not super-ultra fast like before. Why? School. My grades are slipping, so I need to get back on track. That needs to take priority.

Anyways, remember to review, and Chapter 20 is still on the way.


	20. The Plot Thickens

**Hello, and it's time to get started on Chapter 20. I'm pretty sure this is gonna be slightly late, but not much. I'm still going at a breakneck pace, even with my semi-hiatus.**

**I've also put a bunch of other stuff in my life on hold, most notably my blog, my playthrough of the **_**Mass Effect**_** trilogy, and my back-to-back playthrough of WoL and HotS (I've played both on their own, WoL about sixty times, even, but never back to back before), so that helps, too. Yeah, my two biggest goals right now are to bring my grades up, even if only just a little bit (I'm **_**just**_** under the minimum GPA to stay at this school, and I really wanna stay here (they have the best Japanese program ever and it's a really awesome language, not to mention that graduating from here will look good on a college application)) and to keep this fanfic **_**rolling**_**.**

**So, let's go.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Yuugi Hoshiguma was not pleased, not in the slightest. Someone had stolen her shackles.

Not the ones she wore on her wrists. Someone would have to be _very_ crafty to steal those. No, the set of shackles that she kept in her dress pocket to keep her weighed down. _Those_ were stolen.

"Damn pickpockets," she grumbled. "Never let anyone go about their business…"

"Yuugi!" called a familiar voice.

"Eh?" asked Yuugi. "Sui-"

Before she could inquire as to if it was indeed Suika, the oni in question tackled her to the ground.

"Eh?" asked Suika. "It usually takes a lot more effort to knock you down, Yuugi…"

"That'd be because my handicaps are gone, Sui," Yuugi groaned. "They keep me weighed to the ground. I'm strong, but I'm also light. Not to mention, I'm distracted because I'm _looking for them_."

"Reason for shouting request for return of shackles?" asked a booming, deep, echoing voice. Yuugi turned.

Part of her wanted to ask what was up with his voice. Part of her wanted to ask what was up with his appearance. Another part of her wanted to ask if he really knew how to speak Japanese.

She ended up going with all three.

"Why do you loond so badly?" asked Yuugi, and she instantly wanted to hit herself for saying something so stupid. "I mean, what's up with you? You look, sound, and talk funny."

"Do not talk funny," he scoffed.

"Yeah, you do," Yuugi argued.

"We're gonna be here all day if you keep that up," said the shrine maiden, who had apparently come with Suika and the strange creature. "Just don't argue with him. I don't think he knows."

"Don't know what?" the creature growled. It didn't seem angry, just annoyed.

"Nothing," the shrine maiden sighed. "I mean, your voice has a lot of echo to it."

Good cover.

"Zerg quality," the creature responded proudly. "Works best for intimidation. Intentional."

"Who are you, anyways?" asked Yuugi.

"Abathur," it responded. "Evolve Swarm, spin strands and sequences. Serve Queen of Blades."

Queen of Blades, huh? Quite the title.

"She sounds like she'd be fun to fight," Yuugi decided.

"Would be utterly annihilated," Abathur replied. "Queen of Blades, perfect fusion of Terran, Zerg matter."

"That just makes it sound all the more fun!" Yuugi cheered, picking herself back up. "But… before I do that, I need my shackles back."

"Aren't you wearing them?" asked the Shrine Maiden.

"Not _these_ shackles," Yuugi groaned. "The ones that I keep in my pocket to weigh me down."

"Hold on," Abathur interrupted. "New discovery. Took longer than usual. Large-scale improvement to Hydralisk sequences."

"Hydralisk?" asked Yuugi. What was going on there? Did this have to do with "Evolving Swarm?"

…

It had taken longer to analyze Satori's essence than it had to analyze any other essence he'd gotten here. But, he'd done it. Satori's strands matched up best with the Hydralisk sequences. It was a good thing he'd brought it. It was also no wonder that Satori liked the creature so much- they were genetically similar.

In any case, Abathur spun Satori's strands into the Hydralisk sequences, creating a new creature. Behind him, the Hydralisk entered a cocoon.

Before long, the cocoon hatched.

Satori Hydralisk looked like a cross between Satori, a Hydralisk, and a cowgirl, essentially.

In short, she had long brown hair, kept in place by a darker brown hairband. She wore a purple shirt, covered by a brown jacket with darker brown highlights. Like all the Zerg with the exception of Vampire Ultralisk, she had purple eyes. She also wore a brown miniskirt with purple details.

She wore brown cowboy boots, had the Third Eye of a Satori (colored brown, appropriately enough), and carried a brown sniper rifle.

Sniper rifle? Where did _that_ come from? On that matter, where did _any_ of the Youkai Zerg get their accessories? According to their sequences, the clothes were parts of their bodies, but Kappa Leviathan alone was proof that they could remove them. Ah, well. It was a mystery for another day. Right now, he needed the new Satori Hydralisk working.

"Evolution Master," she greeted. "I'm certain that I can find the thief."

…

Satori was pleasantly surprised. She had stopped focusing on Abathur's mind, only to find that the Hydralisk's consciousness had split off from his own. He'd taken her essence when she hadn't noticed.

A quick probe of Satori Hydralisk's mind (a confusing name when they were both around; perhaps they should just call her Hydralisk) showed something fascinating: Hydralisk could only completely read the minds of other Zerg. However, she could also detect the feelings of anything around her.

In other words, she was incredibly useful, but wasn't perfect at what she was meant for.

Disappointing. She was hoping that she could truly talk to someone again, but oh, well. Maybe in the future.

"Evolution Master," Hydralisk greeted, rather coldly. "I'm certain that I can find the thief."

"Find thief," Abathur commanded. The Hydralisk nodded once, before running off. The rest of the group, with the exception of the Oni, ran off after her.

After running through a few twists, alleys, and intersections, Hydralisk stopped, and signaled for everyone else to do the same. She held her sniper rifle up to her face. After scanning around, she stopped.

"Zerg Sign," she called. "Kill shot."

"Wait, kill shot?!" cried Alice. "What do you mean, kill shot?!"

Hydralisk pulled the trigger, the recoil pushing her arm slightly up, and a beam of Danmaku instantly exited the barrel of the weapon.

A very small explosion occurred, and Hydralisk started running again, the group following again.

After a few more twists and turns, the group found Juri Yan, holding her head and groaning in pain and annoyance.

"So, it didn't actually _kill_…" noted Aya. "That's good. All of Gensokyo would be up in arms if Danmaku could be used to actually kill people."

"Come on, give us everything you've taken," Hydralisk glared. "Now."

Juri glared right back, picking herself up and rifling through a bag. After a minute, she sighed and simply dumped it out.

"There's no way I'm sticking around for this!" she yelled, running off.

"Let her go," Reimu sighed. "There's not much else she can do. She's just a lantern tsukumogami."

_...We have a problem, Great One!_ Bob spoke up.

"Urgh. What?" grumbled Reimu.

_There is nothing here that matches the description of the Third Leg!_

That got her attention.

Satori internally berated herself. She read Juri's mind, but only made sure that she didn't have it. She didn't see if she ever had it in the first place.

…

"We're very sorry, Utsuho," Alice apologized. "But Third Leg isn't with this stuff. I think someone else might have taken it."

_We will work immediately on getting it back! _Bob promised.

"Don't go around making promises on other people's behalf!" Reimu shouted in retort.

_I apologize, Great One! Will we not retrieve the device?_ he asked.

"No, we…" Reimu started, but saw Utsuho's face. She was just about ready to sob. "...will. We will."

Abathur failed to see the significance of a spare, but felt for the girl. As such, he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He didn't like feeling.

"I, uh, think we should go…" the Zergling piped up. The group turned to her, and Reimu sighed.

"It is getting be time that time, yeah," Reimu agreed. "Rin, can you lead us back to Chireiden?"

"Of course!" Rin grinned, pumping a fist into the air.

And so, the group left back through the tunnel.

…

"Well," the mysterious woman chuckled. "Juri provided an excellent distraction, didn't she?"

"Of course, Master," Nagi agreed. "I still don't know why you trusted Ririko's robot to get the arm nuke thing, though."

"It worked, didn't it?" she asked in return. "My dear Nagi, you fail to know what I know about technology. Ririko knows more about it than even I do. Everything is going perfectly to plan. Except for Ayumu leaving us, but that was to be expected."

"I just hope you know what you're doing," Nagi warned. "They stopped us from getting the Zerus Generator the first time. Who says that they can't or won't do it again?"

"Because next time, we'll be prepared," the woman grinned. It rather unnerved Nagi. "And besides, it won't be for a long time, anyways. We still need to get stronger, and while we do that, we can go after the other things we need for the plan. Like Third Leg, for instance…"

The woman started to laugh. It was most definitely the creepiest laugh Nagi had ever heard. She never wanted to hear her boss laugh again, she decided.

…

And that's chapter 20, and the end of the fifth arc! Next time on _Gensokyo's Heart_, we see Akyuu give a PMiSS-style summary of Abathur. After that, we meet a Touhou character nobody's seen in ages, and a recent Touhou character. We also get go to the Outside World. So, look forward to all of that.

Remember to review!


	21. Perfect Zerg in Strict Sense

**Hello, and welcome back to Gensokyo's Heart! And now, I'll leave things to Akyuu.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

**Evolution Master of the Zerg**

**Abathur**

…

Ability: Power to Manipulate Genetic Structure of Zerg

Collect 'Essence' from other creatures, Youkai or otherwise

Threat Level: Medium

Human Friendship Level: Normal

Main Place of Activity: Hercules Dropship above Forest of Magic

...

Abathur is called "Evolution Master" by his fellow Zerg.

He talks in a very strange way (*1).

He can collect 'Essence' from things by taking things from their bodies.

Using this essence, he can give the Zerg their abilities (*2).

He is not the leader of the Zerg, but they really like him.

Abathur looks like a thumb covered in arms.

…

**Zerg**

Zerg are mysterious creatures that claim not to be Youkai, but rather, aliens from a place called the Koprulu Sector.

They can apparently be born very fast, but there are no Larvae around, so we can't see that.

They have living, organic buildings, but none of them are in Gensokyo.

They have a fierce rivalry with fellow Koprulu natives known as the Protoss (*3).

The Queen of Blades is their leader. She's not in Gensokyo.

...

**Eyewitness Reports**

"Abathur's really weird, but he's not really _bad_…" (Reimu Hakurei)

Aside from the Human Village Incident, he has not started anything.

"He's only visited once." (Sakuya Izayoi)

He seems to be touring Gensokyo, trying to meet everyone.

He leaves a lot of people behind in the dust.

...

**Countermeasures**

He is generally friendly, so you don't need to be scared.

If he does try to hurt you, there are countermeasures.

Zerglings are allergic to lemon juice (*4).

Most Zerg cannot use Danmaku.

Those who can are stronger.

They all follow Abathur's orders, so if you're on his good side, the Zerg will not attack you.

…

1: He doesn't seem to notice.

2: Giving them Youkai essence turns them into a Youkai.

3: There is actually a single Protoss living in Gensokyo.

4: A type of Zerg.

…

"Well," grinned Yukari Yakumo. "It seems Abathur is starting to fit in here. Perhaps it's about time I showed myself?"

"How would you go about doing that, Yukari-sama?" Ran asked, completely devoid of tone. It was clear that she had asked that question many times before.

"Why, make life more difficult for him, of course!" Yukari joked. "But in all seriousness, there needs to be something going on in order for introductions to be made properly. But, at least I'll have help! Right, Mima?"

Mima the Evil Spirit stirred in the corner of the room, opening one eye.

"Are you really sure you want me involved in your plans?" she asked. "I have a habit of ruining plans, lately."

"Of course!" Yukari giggled. "And I know just what to do, and how to do it."

…

The Overmind was bored. Zasz was busy fighting the Protoss on an uninhabited world known as Agria. All of the other Cerebrates remained behind on Char, defending the Overmind. But, since it was so safe, yet nowhere closer to killing the Protoss, there was nothing for it to do except scheme to get beyond Amon's control. None of the Cerebrates, or Abathur for that matter, knew of its hatred for the Xel'Naga extremist who created it. It wasn't allowed to talk about it.

So, all it could do was scheme against a dead God who had already destroyed its free will.

"Overmind," Abathur interrupted its thoughts. "New creation. Hydralisks, adapted from slothien essence. Can fire spines at enemies. Useful against Protoss shields."

"Good work, Abathur," the Overmind complimented. "We are one step closer to killing the Protoss."

"Are we really that much closer?" asked Daggoth. "Abathur is the best at what he does, but I sometimes wonder if he's really that much better than the alternative."

"The alternative wanted us all dead," the Overmind reminded. "Abathur has much less independence than him. He is obedient. Especially since he cannot be sane without my overriding will. He couldn't kill me if he wanted to."

"I suppose," Daggoth agreed. "Well, go about your business, then, Abathur."

"Evolve Swarm," Abathur returned. "Spin strands and sequences. Improve Swarm efficiency."

...

**Well, it seems like Yukari's finally on the move. And we also have a cameo of the Overmind, Daggoth, and Present!Abathur (remember, our Abathur is from the future). Hey, if our next arc is in the Outside World, will that have some sort of effect?**

**Also, I find it funny that Daggoth doubts Abathur, since, of the three of them, Abathur is the only one who survives past Brood War.**

**Also, I'm pushing it pretty hard that The Overmind isn't male. It's genderless. Tassadar refers to the Overmind as "it" in Wings of Liberty, so I'm calling it "it" as well. Also, from now on, I'm bolding the ending A/N's, as well, and I'll change the previous chapters to match up with this new policy.**

**Anyways, remember to review.**


	22. The Overmind's Will

**After that nice intermission, it's time for our sixth arc. Here, Abathur gets to the Outside World! And remember, the only thing keeping the Zerg under Abathur's control is the Hakurei Barrier. So. There could be problems with that.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur awoke, but he was not in the Hercules.

The Hercules had a metal floor, not a concrete one.

Abathur rose up and found himself in an alley. Not like an alley in the underground, or the human village, but like one on a Terran colony.

Scattered around him were Reimu, Aya, Alice, and a girl he didn't recognize. He had no Zerg around. He looked up. Scratch that, his Vipers were above him, and they didn't look happy.

"Undesirable," was all Abathur managed to get out before he was lifted off the ground.

…

The Overmind was confused, but ecstatic. Everything was normal, but all of a sudden, there were three Zerg on a planet far beyond the Koprulu Sector. It wasn't sure how they landed on this 'Earth,' as Earth was far enough that it would take a decade to reach it, but it was happy that they were.

What confused it even more were what the three Zerg were. One of them seemed to be Abathur, but Abathur was still right there. Abathur lived within the Overmind's body itself. The other two were species of Zerg that shouldn't exist. They were nonexistent strains, seemingly an evolved form of Mutalisk not unlike the Guardians, and even Abathur didn't know what they were, and almost seemed disgusted by them.

Well, its Abathur, anyways. This other Abathur seemed to think that they were called Vipers, given how he reacted to being pulled into the air by them. Was that what they did? The Overmind would have fun controlling these.

…

Yukari grimaced. As soon as Abathur had been brought to the Outside World, the psychic connection between him and the Zerg was severed. The vipers that came with him became connected to a completely different being, far beyond Earth. That must have been this mysterious 'Overmind'.

Meanwhile, the Zerg that remained in Gensokyo were reconnected to the Satori Hydralisk, evidently the strongest mentally of the Youkai Zerg.

"I think I understand now," Yukari noted. "Whichever one is mentally the strongest has control over the other nonsentient Zerg. Usually, that Zerg is Abathur, but within Gensokyo, Abathur is gone, and outside of Gensokyo, something mentally stronger than Abathur now exists. Fascinating."

"Aren't you at all worried?" asked Ran. "Those buglike Zerg look like they could do a major number on Abathur."

"Oh, don't worry," Yukari reassured. "The Overmind probably doesn't want to hurt him."

…

Abathur stared at the Vipers before him.

"Greetings, Abathur," he heard. It had obviously come from the Viper, even though it lacked a proper mouth. A completely psionic conversation. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Overmind," Abathur greeted. "Should have seen this coming."

"Where did you come from?" the Overmind asked in return. "There aren't supposed to be two of you, and the original Abathur is right here."

"Would not believe me," Abathur responded in kind. "Long story."

"I've got all the time in the world," it responded, and if the Overmind had a mouth, Abathur was sure it would be smiling.

Abathur didn't want to continue the conversation with his former master. As such, he yelled.

"Need assistance!" he yelled, causing Aya to stir. She slowly rose and looked up, her eyes widening when she saw the Vipers.

"H-hey!" Aya yelled. "Put him down!"

The Viper almost seemed surprised.

"You're allying with the creatures native to this world?" the Overmind sneered. "Wait… Such power! Could it be that you're working for _them_, now?!"

Aya simply glared, and flew straight up, ramming into the Viper. The Viper dropped Abathur to the ground.

Abathur fell right next to the unidentified girl. Seizing the opportunity, he plucked a hair from her head and ate it. To his relief, the girl was indeed a Youkai.

After briefly analyzing the hair, he didn't even bother to see what sequences they matched up best with. He just immediately spun her strands into the Viper sequences. The way they were now, they were weapons of the Overmind. Meanwhile, the Youkai Zerg, as he discovered, were loyal to him out of gratitude for making them sapient, not because he was already their master. The Overmind would do no such thing.

The Youkai Vipers would be loyal to him.

However, while one of the Vipers was fast enough to finish its evolution, the other was not. The Overmind quickly cancelled the evolution. Knowing the Overmind, it knew him well enough to understand his strategies. The Overmind knew that the transformation would work to his advantage.

"Aurgh!" the Overmind shouted in frustration.

"I'm ready to work!" the evolved Viper saluted. She wore a one-piece brown dress with purple details, and she had a red streak in her brown hair. She had a pair of short, stubby horns, as well as the insectoid wings of a Viper. "Just tell me where you want me, Evolution Master!"

Abathur nodded. "Keep other Viper at bay," he ordered.

"Will do!" she saluted once more before flying at the other Viper. Both Vipers were quickly out of sight.

"...Will wake up others," Abathur decided. "Strategize."

"I'll help!" Aya offered.

"Gratitude," Abathur thanked.

…

"So, it's just the four of us?" asked Reimu. "I don't really understand how we got here, but…"

"No, there's one more," Aya sighed. Abathur and I don't recognize her, but she's a Youkai. It's how we were able to drive off that feral Zerg."

"Not feral," Abathur corrected. "Working for Overmind. Takes much power to resist its overriding will."

"Overmind?" asked Aya. "You mean, the old Zerg leader?"

"Same," Abathur confirmed. "Also worrying- was already born in this time. Will be going up against myself. Do not wish to cause time paradox."

"Changing the subject, where's this Youkai girl?" asked Reimu. Aya pointed towards the back of the alley, and Reimu and Alice walked over.

"Oh, dammit!" Reimu cried.

"What? Who is it?" asked Alice.

"...Seija Kijin," Reimu answered. "She's an Amanojaku with the power to flip things. And she is quite possibly _more annoying than Yukari_. She started the Miracle Mallet incident not too long ago by manipulating a gullible Kobito named Shinmyoumaru."

"...What do you mean by 'flip things'?" asked Alice.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Reimu sighed. "When I fought her, she somehow… _turned me upside-down_. It made the fight a hell of a lot more annoying, and even though she's pretty strong herself, her goal is to make the weak rule over the strong. She's not a pleasant person."

At that, Seija began to stir.

"Huh?..." she mumbled. "Wh… where am I?"

"You're in the Outside World, Seija," Reimu glared. "And if we find a way back, I'm highly tempted to leave you here."

Seija's eyes widened in realization.

"Uh, Hakurei! H-hi! I, uh, don't know what the pleasure could possibly be, haha!"

Reimu's eyebrow rose. Seija was acting weird. That wasn't to say that her usual behavior was normal, but she wasn't acting like, well, Seija. Seija wasn't a stuttery, terrified mess, even in the aftermath of the Miracle Mallet incident. What the hell happened to her?

…

"Yukari-sama, are you willing to admit that something's wrong, now?" asked Ran. "The Overmind certainly seemed malevolent, there."

"I didn't think that it was that bad," Yukari admitted. "I was thinking that it was only as evil as anyone around here who would start an incident. Then again, Abathur did say that it completely destroyed entire races, and tried to do the same to the humans…"

"Maybe now, you'll exercise _caution_ when dealing with alien warlords with known genocidal histories," Ran snapped. "I hope you've learned your lesson, Yukari-sama."

"In any case," Yukari changed the subject cheerfully. "The problem with the Overmind seems dealt with, for now! Mima, it's your turn!"

"Oh, goody," Mima responded sarcastically. "I couldn't wait."

"Now, I'll be gapping you about… two blocks away from them. Tail them, and cause them trouble. But don't actually hurt them!"

"I won't," Mima grimaced. "Shinki'd give me hell if Alice got hurt, I know how important the Zerg are, and I actually kinda _like_ Shameimaru and Hakurei, contrary to popular belief. I won't promise anything about the Amanojaku, though."

"_Don't hurt her,_" Yukari glared. "She's part of Gensokyo."

"And so am I!" Mima yelled back. "Anyways, I'm going! Just do your thing!"

And with that, Yukari opened a gap beneath the evil spirit.

…

**Fun fact, I actually finished this chapter _before_ the fifth Intermission. See, I don't always have access to Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, so I wrote the non-Akyuu parts, _then_ this chapter, then part of Chapter 23, before finally writing the PMiSS-style description of Abathur. Also, Winter Break has officially begun for me, so I'll be going at my old pace again for a week! Also, I've started a new story. It's sort of related to this one- both this one and the new story are based around the basic premise of "Abathur in Gensokyo," but the new story takes things in a completely different direction. I'll alternate updates between the two stories. Warning, though, the new one- "For Want of a Nail-" is much darker than this story. The variety should be good for writing practice.**

**Anyways, remember to review!**


	23. Your Eyes Look Greek

**Hello. It's time for another chapter of **_**Gensokyo's Heart**_**. Sorry for taking so long with this one, I had a major case of writer's block on the first page. Once I got onto the second page, my usual pace returned.**

**What happened to Seija to change her so much? Will Abathur create a time paradox? What kind of trouble will Mima cause? Will the Overmind have a lasting impact on the story? Will we see the Amanojaku Viper ever again, or is she lost in the Outside World fighting the other Viper?**

…

Amanojaku Viper shot through various alleys chasing after the Overmind's Viper. Both Vipers, being based on the same species of Mutalisk, were incredibly fast. Occasionally, Amanojaku would try to grab the Overmind's Viper with her very long tongue, but failed every time.

Occasionally, they flew past a large group of people, who took out their communicators and began to take pictures.

That wasn't the mission, but it probably wouldn't hurt. The people of Earth wouldn't know about the Zerg for a few more centuries. This would probably be written off and explained as insects eating genetically modified food, even if that's not how genetics works. Terrans could be gullible like that.

In any case, the Viper suddenly stopped and turned around. Amanojaku tried to stop, but it took a lot of work considering how stopping in midair works. She slammed right into the other Viper, knocking them both back a few feet. Before she could regain her footing, the Overmind had the Viper fire at her.

Dammit! Vipers had anti-air attacks!

Amanojaku would have to think of something better…

…

"So, Seija, what involvement did you have in the Miracle Mallet Incident?" asked Aya.

"I… well…" Seija spoke. "I started it."

"I see," Aya nodded. "So, you were in charge?"

"Well, no, Sukuna was…" Seija trailed off.

The group of five decided that it was high time that they found their way out, so they left the alley. The Outside World was a dangerous place, but they were Youkai, Zerg, and Shrine Maidens. They could handle themselves.

Of course, some people thought Abathur was strange. His voice would make him even stranger, so they decided to tell anyone they came across that he was in costume.

With that, they set off.

Unfortunately, before they got very far at all, a floating eye appeared a few feet in front of them. Some bystanders looked on. The group was certainly strange-looking, and there was a floating eye in front of them.

"One of Rika's evil eyes?" Reimu asked, dumbfounded. "I haven't seen these in years… since before the Spellcard system was invented!"

"Evil eyes?" asked Abathur.

"They're like… science monsters. Not like the Zerg," Reimu explained. "They were created by a girl called Rika before the Spellcard system was implemented. She disappeared not long after I met Marisa…"

"I remember these things," Aya piped up. "They were annoying. They were only as powerful as Fairies."

"Could have useful essence…" Abathur noted.

"Knock yourself out," Reimu answered. "Don't do it in public, though. We need to get this thing into a private are-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Abathur scurried over to the creature and grabbed it, holding it close.

"Can eat in private," Abathur decided. "Move out."

…

Back in another alleyway, Abathur devoured the Evil Eye. The girls deemed that it was a disgusting sight, even if it was for a good cause.

After analyzing its essence, Abathur determined that it could be useful. More intriguing, however, was that…

"Impressive genetic restructuring. Almost at my level. Not quite there. Impressive part, no essence used. No predefined traits from existing creatures. Completely original."

"So, what you're saying is that Rika's better at this than you," Alice returned.

"No!" Abathur shouted, shocking all four girls. "Not better. As good, at most. _Swarm superior to Evil Eyes._ Eyes, genetically impressive. Also show lack of sense. Useless. Creator is skilled; also idiotic. Does not realize own potential. Could… refine that potential. Seek to meet this 'Rika'."

"Good luck with that," Aya sighed. "Nobody's seen her or the Evil Eyes in… around a decade. I'm pretty sure she's dead somewhere."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Alice remarked. "She's probably hiding somewhere. Someone as smart as she seems to be wouldn't die that easy."

"Also, Evil Eyes completely stopped being a problem when the Spellcard Rules came out," Reimu pointed out. "They were mostly gone by the time the Mystic Square Incident rolled around, but there were still pockets people found around. They stopped finding them when the Rules were spread around."

That reminded Abathur of the status of the Zerg after the Brood War. Nobody saw them anymore, but people kept finding them. Of course, the resolution was the exact opposite of that- instead of disappearing completely, the Zerg made a comeback just in time for the Second Great War.

The similarities between the Swarm and this Rika girl were growing at a disturbing rate…

Abathur shook his head.

"Must find source of Evil Eyes," Abathur decided. "Hopefully, can find answers."

They were just in luck. All of a sudden, five more Evil Eyes appeared.

"This should be easy," Aya grinned. "They're no more powerful that Fairies! Wind God 'Wind God Hidden Among Tree Leaves'!"

Swarms of green Danmaku expanded from Aya, and Abathur burrowed to avoid them. Unsurprisingly, it only took one hit for each of the Evil Eyes to go down.

"They're even weaker against Danmaku than they were against real attacks," Reimu noted. "Pathetic."

"Example," Abathur pointed out. "Impressive, difficult to replicate- but also no reason to replicate. Worthless. Not worth time put into them. Too complex, too weak."

"Now I understand," Alice realized. "You're saying that Rika's squandering her potential."

"Correct," Abathur answered. "Must hurry. Find way to return."

…

Mima glared. She didn't want to hurt any of them, but she at least wanted to _slow them down_!

She looked towards the other Gensokyo residents. The two Vipers, the sentient one and the one controlled by the Overmind, were still fighting. The sentient one seemed like it was trying to keep the other alive while limiting the damage it does. Understandable. If the Viper was retrieved, it could be a twin sister for her.

In any case, things weren't going as planned at all. Mima was pretty sure that Yukari had never failed this bad in… five hundred years. And even then, this wasn't that big of a failure. It was just that nothing went according to plan because Yukari underestimated the Overmind.

She sighed. This was gonna be a long day…

…

**And that's the end of this chapter! Again, sorry for the wait. Also remember that **_**For Want of a Nail**_ **is also going on. So, there's that.**

**Remember to review!**


	24. A Disappointing Resolution

**Hello, and welcome back to Gensokyo's Heart!**

**We continue with our scheduled story, and we also have a review from Palver7:**

**These chapters are as good as always. Something puzzles me though. How could Yukari and Ran deduce the true 'evilness' of the Overmind just by watching a brief banter between future Abathur and it? I mean they were just talking and the Overmind has yet to commit evil acts. Well I hope you will explain this either in reply or in the story itself.**

**-They didn't deduce it, they already knew. Yukari's been watching Abathur for a while, now, and Abathur explained the Great War in the second and fourth intermissions. The Overmind's actions during the Great War were very clearly genocidal, hence Ran referring to it as a "genocidal alien warlord." Yukari knew that it was very, very evil, but she didn't anticipate how much it was willing to hurt Abathur. Ran simply pointed out why she should have seen that coming. Also: thanks for the compliment!**

**I've also got a really long review from reviewer. No, that's not a mistake, that's their actual username. In any case, the review was a bunch of corrections about how I should deal with gameplay/story segregation. And my answer to that review is that I appreciate the criticism, and I will keep that in mind in the future! I actually tried to make the upgrades part sound more like the green text, rather than the white text, but I got lazy. Also; nice way of saying that last bit. I wish I had come up with that.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

"This could be a problem," Yukari decided. "Mima's not doing well enough. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring them to the Outside World?"

"What made you think that it was a good idea in the first place?" asked Ran. "I understand why you want to get them alone, but they can't do anything out there because people don't know that Youkai are real or that the Zerg even exist out there!"

"Quiet, Ran!" Yukari shouted, surprising her shikigami. Yukari didn't get angry often. "I had a plan, one that actually worked! I just wasn't expecting the Overmind's interference because he's an unknown factor! Even I couldn't have predicted that! So just be quiet and don't question me!"

"I…" Ran started.

"I said, be quiet!" Yukari snapped.

"Yes, Yukari-sama," Ran sighed, hanging her head in dejection. "I'm sorry."

Yukari herself sighed.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," she apologized. "It's just that my plans haven't failed in a long time. And this one is failing spectacularly."

Ran walked over, sighed, and patted her master on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Yukari-sama," she reassured. "Even if you did over-react, I was still out of line. I went too far."

Yukari, in a move that honestly shouldn't have surprised Ran, hung her head and tightly hugged Ran.

"Yukari-sama," Ran deadpanned. "What are you doing?"

"I need emotional support!" Yukari's muffled voice stated.

"We had a thirty-second spat," Ran grimaced. "I don't think you need emotional support for that."

…

Reimu was pleased to learn that the Outside World used Yen, a type of currency that she had much of. Well, not much, but enough to get by. That made this whole ordeal a lot easier.

After reluctantly paying for lunch for everyone, the group sat around a table, most of them wondering what the metal creatures zooming around here were.

"Must find way back," Abathur decided. "Cannot remain here. Consequences, too dire. Could change history."

"And that wouldn't be good at all," Reimu grimaced. "Any ideas?"

"We should at least try to find the Hakurei Barrier," Aya suggested. "Perhaps we could find the Hakurei Shrine in some listing?"

"Terrans have communications network at current time, according to estimate. Could look it up on local communications network," Abathur suggested. "Can be found at library."

"Well, a library's a good start, I guess," Alice sighed. "At least some things stay the same in the Outside World."

"Let's go, then," Reimu got up. "Seija, get up. We're leaving."

…

When the group of five walked through the library doors, they did not find themselves in a library. They found themselves in Yukari's gap world.

"Yukari!" Reimu shouted. "I knew you were behind this!"

"Please, Reimu," sighed a woman, descending down a transparent set of stairs. She somehow looked old, yet young. "I've had a hard day."

"You've had a hard day?!" Reimu cried. "You sent me to the Outside World!"

"And I very nearly lost a few people, got into a fight with Ran, and had a plan fail for the first time in half a millenia!" the woman yelled. "The only things bothering you were Evil Eyes, and you know better than anyone how weak they are!"

"Then what was the point of all this?!" screamed Reimu. "Why do you feel the need to meddle in every single aspect of my life, Yukari?!"

"She wants to protect you, Reimu," another voice spoke. "You're like a daughter to her, much like how Marisa is like a daughter to me."

Reimu turned.

"Mima?... But… you're supposed to be dead!" Reimu gasped. "We lost you in Makai!"

"I didn't die, Miko," the ghost grimaced in annoyance. "I was trapped in Makai. The Monk wasn't the only one who got let out of there when her followers let her out."

"Explanation?" asked poor, poor Abathur, who had no idea what was going on or who these newcomers were.

"I'll give you the abridged one," Yukari sighed. "I've been monitoring your progress in Gensokyo. Now that Akyuu's got record of you, I figured that it was time for me to introduce myself. I had a plan involving showing you a couple places of note in the Outside World that could be useful to you, but there was a… spanner in the works."

"The Overmind," Abathur answered.

"Exactly. By the way, your new Youkai Zerg should be here any minute- I was only able to save Amanojaku, sorry. The other Viper was killed."

"Better than interfering in Terran lives," Abathur shrugged. "Mindless beast."

"Good to hear that you weren't too attached to it," Yukari grinned. "Anyways, I heard about what you wanted to hear about Rika. She's not… available, at the moment, but she could be soon. Meanwhile, I'd like to speak to you."

As Amanojaku flew into the Gap, accompanied by a few Evil Eyes, Abathur and Yukari ascended up the steps.

"...So, it turns out that they didn't even need me," Mima groaned. "That's so boring!"

…

Yukari had nothing important to talk about, not yet. She simply explained to him that she might need his help one day, and that he might need hers.

She admitted that the whole thing was all a failure, and that she'd take the Overmind into account in the future.

Meanwhile, Abathur had work to do. He had a lot more sequences to play with. As soon as Yukari dropped him and Amanojaku off outside the Hercules, and Abathur had access to his Zerg again, Abathur began work.

He rewrote the creature within him from the base up. He left his own sequences, the Kappa sequences, and the Vampire sequences intact, but added more. After all, the essence of a Moon Rabbit, a Satori, an Amanojaku, and an Evil Eye could be very useful in his latest project.

He leaned back and would have smiled if he could. That's when he leaned into a button.

"Online," spoke a familiar robotic voice. "Adjutant 2-35 Alpha, Codename: Mirlin, online."

Abathur wondered just what the hell he'd done, and why a Hercules Dropship was installed with an outdated, Great War-era Adjutant.

…

**Sorry for the delays again! I had writers block on how to conclude this clusterfuck of an arc. Quite honestly, having an Arc that could impact the past was a bad idea. So, I decided to wrap it up the same way I felt about it- Yukari realized that she fucked up, and gave up. Don't worry, our next Intermission and arc will be more enjoyable than this one.**

**Also, what the hell is up with that Adjutant, Mirlin? Just what is Abathur doing? Why did Antagonist decide to use a SC1 Adjutant instead of an SC2 adjutant?**

**These questions will be answered in time. Until then, remember to review!**

**ALSO- I've started another story. You guys may not be interested, though- this one is still a Touhou crossover, but instead of a StarCraft crossover, it's a Mass Effect crossover.**


	25. Incident Resolving 101

**Hey, sorry for the schedule slip there! I had this really important project that I had to work on. When I wasn't doing that, I was playing Mass Effect, doing other homework, or watching various Touhou videos. I also started a third fanfic, Ordinary Human Spectre, which is a Touhou/Mass Effect crossover AU. With the release of that one, **_**For Want of a Nail**_** will update more slowly, since it's just a side story anyways.**

**Anyways, here's our next intermission. **

…

Abathur wasn't sure just why Mima the Evil Spirit had arrived on his doorstep, but she had. Or, more accurately, wall-doorstep. The bizarre design of the Hercules was not the point, however.

"Do not understand," he vocalized his thoughts. "Your presence, unexplainable."

"I get the feeling that nobody's really taken the time to explain Gensokyo's past to you is all," Mima answered. "Everyone says that you've explained so much about your home, yet you still know next-to-nothing about Gensokyo. And, quite honestly, I get the feeling that you'll get in big trouble with some of the power-players here if you don't know their history."

Abathur pondered this for a moment, before walking back into the Hercules, motioning for Mima to follow.

A Roach crawled over and sat down in front of Mima, as if to offer a seat. Of course, while Mima had no ethical qualms with sitting on a bug, she was still quite avidly against sitting on top of a spiky, durable one. Besides, she was an Evil Spirit. She didn't need to sit.

"What's going on?" asked the lead Zergling.

"I'm giving you a history lesson," grunted Mima. "Are you two ready?"

…

_Since the creation of humanity, Youkai, monsters fueled by belief and fear, have also existed. However, as time went on, and science became more and more widespread, Youkai started to die out. In a last effort, Yukari Yakumo sealed off the region of Gensokyo from the rest of the world, in order to make a safe haven for Youkai. Of course, Youkai can't exist without belief, so she created the Human Village, a village that exists purely to keep the Youkai alive._

_Every now and then, "Incidents" occur. They're the result of Youkai getting bored, or wanting to rule over something. The most drastic of which was the Two Paths Incident- or, at least, that's what I like to call it. The Incident began with the complete destruction of the Hakurei family, who maintain the border. The only survivor was young Reimu, who was… well, let's just say that she was a lot younger back then. As the Hakurei family is responsible for maintaining the balance in Gensokyo, she had to go solve the Incident on her own. In the end, after fighting her way through Makai, she got revenge on the one who killed her family and ended the Incident._

_After that was the Eastern Wonderland Incident. I personally started that one, and Marisa helped. The details are a little fuzzy, now, but even though the Danmaku system hadn't been invented yet, I'm reasonably sure that this Incident gave her the idea for it. The basic magics were very similar to Danmaku._

_After that, strange ruins appeared in Gensokyo. We held a competition, and whoever won got to find a fabulous prize within the ruins. Reimu, Marisa, and I all participated, of course. As it turned out, the whole competition was an Incident, the Universal Incident, to be specific. I think. It wasn't until the Scarlet Mist Incident that we started naming them, so the names of the earlier ones aren't as heavily agreed on as the more recent ones. Anyways, the whole thing was a trap- the "ruins" were actually a spaceship from another universe, or something. I didn't really understand what Yumemi was saying, but she tried to capture Reimu for study. As you would expect, Reimu put that plan down._

_After that, the Mugenkan Incident. A bunch of Youkai once again invade the Hakurei Shrine, no surprise there, so Reimu and Marisa go find a new border without me. The meanies. They soon found the border between the real world and the land of dreams, and fought Elly, the Shinigami in charge of maintaining the border. After breaking through, they found Yuuka Kazami, who lived in the mansion of Mugenkan. They fought her and won, although I'm still not sure how that stopped the Youkai from attacking._

_After that was the Mystic Square Incident. Marisa, Reimu, Yuuka, and I worked together on that one. A bunch of demons were running around all over the place, so we went to Makai, and fought the Goddess of Makai, Shinki. However, something… switched. I was trapped in Makai while Shinki's daughter fled. You've met her already- her daughter is Alice._

…

That was news to Abathur. Abathur felt slightly intimidated, although that may have had more to do with the fact that he didn't tower over Mima like he did everyone else. The fact that she was at his height and not obviously flying was very threatening to him. He was big, but lacked combat capabilities. So, long ago, he taught himself that things that were as big as him were very dangerous. Still, there was the possibility that his feeling of intimidation came from the bombshell that she just dropped on him.

"...Previously unknown," he admitted. "New information. Magician Essence, far more desirable now."

"Just as long as you don't go after her 'essence'," Mima said with a grin, wiggling her index and middle fingers of both hands. Abathur knew from Kerrigan that humans called them "airquotes."

"Do not understand," Abathur narrowed his eyes. "Airquotes unnecessary. Will go after essence anyways."

"At least buy her dinner and ask for her consent first," Mima chuckled.

"Do not understand. Eating is not necessary for gathering essence," Abathur continued to stare.

"Oh my god!" Mima laughed. "You're just a goldmine of accidental innuendos! This is the most fun I've had since I tricked Yumeko into pranking Shinki! Oh, man, you should have seen the looks on their faces…"

"It's not _that_ funny," Amanojaku piped up. "Especially not that last one. For an Evil Spirit, you sure have a poor sense of humour."

"My sense of humour is exquisite," Mima defended. "You're the one with a bad sense of humour. In any case, we're still not done."

…

_After that, Reimu invented the Spellcard system, a nonlethal counterpart to magic fighting. The next Incident was the Scarlet Mist Incident, where a deep red mist covered the sky of Gensokyo. This Incident was instigated by Remilia Scarlet, the owner of the Scarlet Devil Mansion._

…

"Scarlet started Incident? Surprising development," Abathur noted to himself.

"Yup," Mima nodded. "One of the most famous ones. Going on…"

…

_Reimu and Marisa teamed up again to stop this Incident. The mission was resolved relatively quickly, given how the guard was having an off day and Remilia herself was… emotionally vulnerable. In any case, she was using the Scarlet Mist in an attempt to go outside during the day. She's a Vampire, and she was getting rather bored being cooped up in that mansion all day long._

_Next was the Spring Snow Incident. Gensokyo was covered in snow, which wouldn't be weird if it weren't _in the middle of May._ The one responsible for this attack was Yuyuko Saigyouji, a ghost and friend of Yukari Yakumo. Reimu and Marisa worked together again, this time with the assistance of Remilia's maid, Sakuya Izayoi. As it turned out, Yuyuko was trying to revive the Saigyou Ayakashi, a demon tree that made people commit suicide._

…

"Demon tree?" asked Abathur. "Could have useful Essence…"

"Don't even think about it," Mima warned. "It's in Hakugyokurou, the afterlife for artists. No way are you going in there. Besides, it's dormant now, but it might try to kill you dead."

…

_Next was the Immaterial Power Incident. I honestly never really heard much about that one, but weird stuff started happening at a bunch of parties. Suika Ibuki was the perpetrator in that one._

…

"Suika Ibuki?" asked Abathur. "Oni at Shrine?"

"That's around the time she moved in with Reimu, yeah," Mima answered. "That one was pretty uneventful."

...

_Next was the Imperishable Night Incident. Most people in Gensokyo believe that the Incident was night not stopping, hence the name, but the Incident Resolvers were actually behind that one. That was so that they could have more time to solve the *real* Incident- that the moon had been replaced with a fake copy. Four teams of Resolvers went out separately to resolve this one- Reimu and Yukari, Marisa and Alice, Remilia and Sakuya, and Yuyuko and her gardener, Youmu Konpaku. This Incident was started by Eirin Yagokoro and Kaguya Houraisan, two fugitive Lunarians who had temporarily stolen the moon in order to hide themselves more properly._

…

"Kaguya?" asked Abathur. He could hardly imagine the Princess starting an Incident- but then again, she did calm down over the course of their last meeting. Eirin _had_ said that she was just excited that they found life in the Koprulu Sector.

"Yep, the moon Princess herself. She was a bit… more extreme, back then," Mima shrugged.

…

_After that was the Flower View Incident. None of the flowers seemed to be dying properly. About half of Genokyo pitched in to help resolve that one. It was a busy Incident. Everyone was convinced at first that Yuuka Kazami, who had since revealed her true nature as a plant Youkai, who was keeping the flowers alive, but the true cause was Komachi Onozuka, a Shinigami who was simply too lazy to reap all the flowers. Sort of. There's also this thing with ghosts that arrive every sixty years and possess the flowers. That Incident was _confusing_, since there were so many points of view. In any case, there was never really an Incident at all, even though half of Gensokyo stepped up to solve it._

_After that was the Faith Incident. Or, that's what I call it- Reimu getting a cease-and-desist letter doesn't really count as an Incident in the eyes of most of Gensokyo. In any case, Reimu got a letter from the new Shrine on the mountain telling her to close down and let the God of the new Shrine take over. Now, of course, this new God was a colossal _idiot_, since without a Hakurei running the Shrine, the Hakurei Barrier would fail, but they did it anyways. Reimu and Marisa ran up Youkai Mountain to this new Shrine, the Moriya Shrine, and did their thing. The new God in town was Kanako Yasaka, a wind and rain God, and Suwako Moriya, an Earth God, and Sanae Kochiya, Suwako's great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter, came with Kanako._

…

"Have met Kochiya," Abathur noted. "Seemed pleasant enough."

"Oh, she's made friends with Reimu since then," Mima agreed. "They've got a friendly rivalry of sorts. It's a lot more friendly to Sanae and a lot more of a rivalry to Reimu, though."

…

_Then, there was the Scarlet Weather Incident. The weather was completely and totally out of whack, and, like in the Flower View Incident, EVERYONE was interested in it. In the end, it was caused by a Celestial named Tenshi Hinanawi getting bored and coming down to Gensokyo to ruin everything. Worse, she had the Sword of Hisao, a weapon that could control the weather, since she was the eldest daughter of the Hinanawi Clan. Her tutor, Iku Nagae, ended up getting involved. Wasn't pretty._

_After that was the Underground Incident. There, a geyser appeared not far from the Hakurei Shrine, and it seemed to spew out Evil Spirits, too. As it turned out, Kanako put a nuclear reactor down there, in an attempt to modernize Gensokyo. She put Utsuho Reiuji in charge of it. True, Utsuho had eaten the corpse of Amaterasu, a fire God, but all that did was give her godlike powers. Still, while Utsuho's a bit of a ditz, she at least knows what she's doing when she runs the reactor._

_Then, a flying boat appeared over Gensokyo. As it turned out, the boat had been trapped in the ground, but the new Geyser pushed it back into the sky. It was the Myouren Temple, a buddhist temple founded by Myouren Hijiri, and run by his sister, Byakuren. The only thing going on there was that the Youkai who went to the Temple were trying to rescue Byakuren from Makai. Getting her out of there created a small hole, and I started to work my way through that hole. It was a hard hole to get through, though, so it took a little while._

_After that was the time those Taoists showed up. There are these really old Taoists who had real beef with Byakuren. Byakuren's return made them get up and moving again. Specifically, Toyosatomimi No Miko, better known as Prince Shotoku… she REALLY hated Byakuren. Like, damn. Then, Mononobe No Futo and Soga Tojiko worked for her, and Seiga Kaku, along with her undead assistant Yoshika Miyako, taught them taoism and dark magic. No, really. I know how hilarious it sounds. Taoism. And dark magic. Those two REALLY don't go together. To be fair, they only paid any attention to the taoism lessons; they mostly just stuck to Danmaku after it was invented. Y'know, like everyone else. Reimu and Marisa dealt with them, as usual._

_Then, the Hopeless Masquerade Incident. Everyone started feeling gloomy and depressed, so all the religious leaders, especially Miko, Reimu, and Byakuren, took the opportunity to gather faith for their respective religions. In the end, the mass melancholy was caused by Hata No Kokoro, a mask Youkai. She actually had a prior connection to Miko, and possibly Sanae's Gods, but that's not as important. In the end, the Incident was dealt with._

…

"Incidents resulted from each other," Abathur narrowed his eyes. "Not normal."

"No, it wasn't," Mima shrugged. "There was also something about a giant robot that was sponsored by Suwako, but that's not as important."

Memories of Terran Goliaths and Terran Thors filled Abathur's mind. A burning question lingered in his mind.

"Robot… built by Kappa?" he asked.

"Of course," Mima grinned. "They build just about everything."

"Kappa, too similar to Terrans," Abathur noted to himself. "Should be careful."

"In any case," Mima changed the subject. "The next Incident finally broke that pattern, having nothing to do with Buddhists, Taoists, or the Moriya Shrine."

…

_Next was the Miracle Mallet Incident. There's a giant, upside-down castle in the sky, and it's owned by Inchlings. One of them has the Miracle Mallet, an Oni-made mallet that grants wishes. Sieja Kijin manipulated this Inchling, Sukuna Shinmyoumaru, into attempting to revolutionize the world, and make the weak rule over the strong. Of course, it had a side effect- it made Reimu, Marisa, and Sakuya's weapons go haywire. They found out about this plot by just trying to figure out what was going on. In the end, they beat the crap out of Seija._

…

"Have met Seija," Abathur nodded.

"I know. I was there," Mima reminded. "In any case, the next Incident was the Leviathan Incident, and since you yourself were behind that one, I'm sure I don't need to tell you about it."

"Done explaining situation?" asked Abathur.

"Yep," answered Mima stretching. "And, quite honestly, I'm tired of talking. I'm going back to the Shrine."

And with that, the Evil Spirit zoomed off, leaving Abathur with more knowledge of Gensokyo.

"...Could be useful," Abathur admitted, closing the doors once more. He had work to do, and not enough time to do it.

Of course, a letter slipped through the doors before they closed.

…

**...And we're back! It took forever to do that Intermission. It was even longer than the StarCraft recap, since Touhou's lore is much more vague than StarCraft's lore, and because I'm so much more busy now than I was then.**

**In any case, the next two arcs and the next two intermissions should be fun. Assuming they're done anytime soon.**

**This is Antagonist, signing off, remember to review.**


	26. Youkai Mountain Murderer

**Antagonist here, and let's just get right into this one. Chronologically, the first scene of this chapter takes place less than a minute after the last Intermission, so we're going fast.**

**Also, we appear to be living **_**Perfect Cherry Blossom**_** here in the northern end of the USA. Who knew that ZUN could predict the future?**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

Abathur wasn't expecting a letter, especially when the door had just closed. He had already dealt with something today that had nothing to do with sequences, did he really need another?

He changed his tune, however, when he saw who the sender was.

"Aya?" he asked to himself.

He easily tore the envelope open with his superior grasper limb, and opened the letter to read it.

…

_Abby,_

_I found something really cool, and I think you might want to see it, since you like DNA so much and stuff! It's a little heavy, though. I _can_ carry it, but I don't want to. It'd just be easier for you to come here and see it! I live in the Tengu Village, and that's not very far from the Kappa Village. Lord Tenma's been wanting to meet you for a while, anyways._

_-Aya._

…

"Invitation to Tengu Village?" asked Abathur. "Interesting. Will investigate."

"I don't think 'interesting, will investigate,' is an appropriate reaction to your best friend inviting you to her house," Vampire chuckled, briefly mimicking Abathur's voice.

"Kappa Leviathan agrees!" Kappa slammed her fists down on a nearby table.

"Bad choice of words," Abathur admitted. "Will… visit. Will visit pit of friend."

"Most people don't call their homes 'pits'," Hydralisk called out from her hammock. "Just you. Since your home is actually a pit."

"D-don't remind him! He might get homesick!" the lead Zergling complained.

"Am incapable of getting homesick. Do not think of Evolution Pit in that manner," Abathur explained. "Will take Mutalisks there. Stay here."

The door opened once more, and Abathur hung onto a Mutalisk, who then flew him away. The other two Mutalisks followed.

…

Aya wasn't sure what she was expecting when she invited Abathur to her home, but she supposed she should have expected this. The scene she found after exiting her home was Momiji yelling at Abathur, with the three Mutalisks lying around him.

"Aya-sama!" Momiji held up a hand. "Don't get too close! I caught this one trying to get past me into the village!"

"That's because I invited him," Aya sighed. "Let him in, Momiji."

"But the Youkai Mountain Murderer is still about!" Momiji warned.

"And they're not Abby," Aya deadpanned. "If Abby wanted to kill everyone in Gensokyo, he would just _do_ so. He's not all that tough, but the other Zerg could easily take out Yuuka. _Yuuka_. Let that sink in. He wouldn't sneak around and pick off one or two people at a time."

Momiji grumbled and eased off, allowing Aya to help Abathur up.

"Momiji didn't hurt you too bad, did she?" asked Aya.

"Am not hurt," he answered. "Youkai Mountain Murderer?"

Did Abathur really not know?

"A serial killer," Aya answered. "They've been going around Youkai Mountain picking off random people. Nobody knows a thing about them, other than the fact that they always leave a message behind."

"Message is?" asked Abathur.

"Eels Return to the Sky," she answered. "A human detective pointed out that it's the name of one of Mystia's songs, but she couldn't kill someone if she tried. So, more likely, it's a deranged fan."

"…Will be on lookout during visit," Abathur decided after a minute of silence. "Am… worried. About you, Nitori, Sanae."

"I don't think you have to worry," Aya rolled her eyes. "You may be weak, but you're big, and the fact that you're weak is considered need-to-know information anymore. Meanwhile, I'm the fastest thing in Gensokyo, Nitori's got an entire _armory_ in her _bunker_, and Sanae is a demigod. We'll all be fine."

"Bunker?" asked Abathur. First the Zerus Generator, then giant robots, and now bunkers. The Kappas' similarity to the Terrans of the Koprulu Sector was getting more and more obvious by the day. If it looked identical to a Terran bunker, then he would kill something. Maybe just a bug. Nevermind, actually, he might tick Wriggle off, and he liked Wriggle. Perhaps a rodent of some kind.

"In any case, I had something to show you, and a Tengu leader to introduce you to!" Aya grinned. "Are you ready to meet Lord Tenma, leader of the Tengu?"

Abathur contemplated for a moment before nodding. Well, as much as he _could_ nod, anyways.

…

When Abathur entered the room, he was immediately terrified. It wasn't that the people in the room were terrifying- Tengu just looked like Terrans with wings or canine traits and without their technology.

It was the room itself that terrified Abathur.

Specifically, the fact that it was golden, with blue crystals all over the place, and had plenty of arches.

Bob would love this place.

"You must be Abathur!" a voice boomed. Abathur turned to the source, a tall, muscular woman wearing bandages around her chest. Somehow, she had the traits of both varieties of Tengu. She had wings, but she also had canine traits. She wore a dress, but she was clearly wearing pants (actual pants, not bloomers) beneath the dress, and it was obviously designed to be removed with ease.

A practical-looking woman.

Of course, her throne looked less practical. It, like everything else in the room, looked like it belonged on a Protoss starship. The way she leaned in it made her look exceptionally bored, despite the excited look on her face.

"Must be Lord Tenma," Abathur realized. "Leader of Tengu."

"That I am!" the woman grinned. "Aya!"

Aya saluted quickly. "Yes, ma'am!"

"You've got a good taste in friends!" Tenma laughed. "He certainly looks interesting enough!"

"Will introduce self properly," Abathur cut in. "Abathur. Evolve Swarm, spin strands and sequences. Work in Evolution Pit."

Tenma's smile faded ever-so-slightly. She looked a little bit more… concerned?

"What's wrong with your speech?"

Oh, not this bullshit again.

"Nothing wrong," Abathur groaned. "Speech, perfectly normal!"

Tenma chuckled.

"Well, if this is normal for you, then I guess there's nothing to worry about. I was thinking that Inubashiri might've injured you."

"Inubashiri?" asked Abathur.

"Momiji," Aya clarified. "Inubashiri is Momiji's family name. The wolf Tengu who harassed you at the gate, that is."

"Oh," Abathur realized. "Was not issue. Tengu present no threat to me. Am used to preparing Zerg for battle against Terrans, Protoss."

"Was that a threat?" one Tengu asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Himekaidou, stand down," Tenma ordered. "He's a friend of Aya's, he wouldn't be making threats against us. He was trying to reassure us that Inubashiri wouldn't be a problem, not intimidate us. Am I right?"

"Correct," Abathur answered. "Have no reason to fight Gensokyo. Would not be able to even if desired. Zerg, powerful. Can protect me. Not powerful enough to fight off all Youkai."

The Tengu, Himekaidou, sunk. He remembered being introduced to a Hatate Himekaidou at one point, who was also a Crow Tengu, but this Tengu was clearly younger, and more standoffish. A child sibling, perhaps?

In any case, Abathur attempted to bow in respect. He failed miserably, and just ended up looking creepy, so he stopped.

"Was that your attempt at bowing?" chuckled Tenma. "Come! We shall show you around the village! We haven't accepted anyone in in ages!"

…

A young Wolf Tengu male wandered the streets of the Tengu village. Apparently, a visitor had arrived, but he wasn't going to break his streak of "days he has avoided the great hall" for this. He would wait until the visitor left the building to check it out.

However, he began to hear a whimpering noise. Remembering news of a serial killer, he ran to check it out. After all, maybe someone survived an attack!

He ran into an alley, the source of the whimpering, but failed to find anyone. He scratched his head, nearly knocking his Tokin off, when a sword suddenly ran through his chest.

The last thing he saw was a white-haired woman kneeling down to his level, covering his blood in her hands, and using it to write, "Eels Return to the Sky" in it. Not long after she was done, he thought his last thought.

At least he was able to see what she looked like. Her white hair really did contrast against her red yukata…

…

…**Well, this just took a turn for the dark! Don't worry, though, the serial killer will be caught and status quo will return. No named characters will die.**

**In any case, remember to review, and I seem to have regained my old speed once more! Antagonist, signing off!**


	27. Helter Skelter

**And so, we're back to Gensokyo's Heart. Man, it feels good to be writing this story again. I mean, yeah, I've got some pretty ambitious views for **_**Ordinary Human Spectre**_**, but that story doesn't have the same charm that this one does. I mean, it's charming, too, and I love it, but this one is my **_**real**_** baby. I'm not quite at my old pace yet, but that's okay. Given how much school is kicking my ass, even this much progress is good.**

**Anyways, let's move on. Serial killer, who seems to be a fan of Mystia, loose on Youkai Mountain. Sounds fun.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

"And this is Kakashi Spirit News!" Himekaidou announced proudly. "Oneesan works here!"

Well, that confirmed Abathur's suspicions that she was somehow related to Hatate.

"Heh, we're not here to show him individual publishers," Tenma chuckled. "We're here to show him major landmarks so he can find those individual pub-"

She was cut off by a Wolf Tengu running by- the same Tengu who kept Abathur out of the village.

"Lord Tenma!" Momiji panted. "There's been another murder!"

"Another one?" asked Tenma, her voice losing any friendliness or warmth that had been there before.

"Yes!" Momiji answered. "He was just a paper-runner, so he wasn't that important to the continued existence of the village, but he had a family. They won't like this news."

"More importantly," Aya coughed. "We have a guest. If the killer decides to target Abby…"

"Told me yourself," Abathur retorted, almost sounding offended. "Am intimidating enough to not be targeted."

"I don't want to risk the off-chance that you're not," Aya said, just barely above a whisper. "This is a Tengu problem, you don't have to get involved."

"Have gotten involved in lots of places," Abathur reminded. "Not particular to here. Have only been in true danger twice. Both threats became allies."

"That's kinda how things work in Gensokyo," Aya reminded. "Who were the threats?"

"Bob, Reimu," Abathur answered. "Bob, not native to Gensokyo. Isolated incident. Reimu, incident solver. Was instigator in that Incident. Have noticed that Incident Resolvers tend to win around here."

"Good point," Aya admitted. "Still, I don't like this! Who knows what could happen?"

"…Hold on," Abathur decided. "Could solve mystery. Could solve mystery better if Hydralisk was present."

"Hydralisk?" asked Aya. "Oh, yeah, Hydralisk! She's part-Satori! How would we get a message to her, though? She's not an extension of you anymore…"

"Simple," Abathur replied, a hint of smugness in his voice. "What is always done."

And with that, Abathur plucked a hair from Aya's head and ate it.

"Large scale improvement to Mutalisk sequences," Abathur announced. "Rewriting genetic strands…"

The three Mutalisks at the edge of town then entered cocoons, identical to the ones they entered to become Brood Lords, Vipers, Guardians, and Devourers. It wasn't long before the cocoons opened.

The girls inside all had hair identical to Aya's, except brown and with two spiky clumps on each side, four in total. Once again, they had purple eyes, and their outfits were merely brown-and-purple recolors of Aya's. However, they also had wings like a Mutalisk instead of a Tengu, and their faces didn't match Aya at all. They all looked a little bit more calm than her.

They flew over quickly, rising and falling in the air. The wings of a Mutalisk were faster and stronger than the wings of a Tengu, but they weren't at all stable. Usually, Mutalisks didn't care. Abathur got the feeling that these ones did.

"Evolution Master!" they saluted simultaneously. "We are ready!"

Abathur pointed at one of them. "Find Hydralisk. Bring her."

"Yes, sir!" she shouted, flying off. Abathur pointed at another.

"Find Reimu, Alice."

"Certainly, Evolution Master!" she saluted, flying in a different direction.

Abathur pointed at the last one.

"Stay. Protect."

"Got it!" she shouted, landing. "I will protect you with my life, Evolution Master!"

"Well, that's an interesting way of getting things done," Tenma chuckled. "So, this Hydralisk is a Satori?"

"Part-Satori," Abathur corrected. "Hydralisk, Zerg creature. Has been introduced to Satori essence, just as Mutalisks have been introduced to Tengu essence. Useful creature. Can only read minds of Zerg creatures, but can see things subject has forgotten."

"I guess I've been inside you, now," Aya joked. "Of course, so has half of Gensokyo…"

"Hair only."

"I know, Abby. I know. It was a joke."

…

Before long, Abathur heard the loud clanging of a Siege Tank.

"Siege Tank not required," Abathur sighed loudly in frustration. "A hindrance."

Before long, the Siege Tank rolled in, knocking down a few trees as it went. If you looked closely, you could easily see how the tank had cleared a path through the forest. Momiji just about fainted.

_Greetings, Great Ones!_ Bob announced, popping out of the hatch. _I am Bob, Protoss Kannushi!_

"You're not a Kannushi yet, dammit!" Reimu shouted from somewhere in the tank.

_Kannushi-in-training!_ he corrected. _I apologize greatly, Great One!_

"Just shuddup and let me out of the tank," Reimu grumbled. Bob climbed fully out of the tank, allowing Reimu, followed by Alice, to climb out and jump onto the ground.

"Bob is a little overzealous…" Alice noted.

"We knew that already," Reimu grumbled. "Alright, what's going on?"

"There's a murderer on the mountain," Aya stated.

"And why should I care?" asked Reimu. Aya and Momiji glared at her. "Joke! Joke! Relax!"

"You will hold your tongue before the Evolution Master," the Mutalisk glared.

"Hostilities unnecessary," Abathur chided. "Ally."

"Yes, Evolution Master!" she saluted once again.

"Another Youkai Zerg, I'm guessing?" asked Reimu. "Her sister came and got us. We kinda left her at the shrine."

"Tengu Mutalisk, ma'am!" the Mutalisk saluted yet again. "I fought you during the Human Village Incident! I am the flying Zerg creature that you destroyed the projectiles of! My Youkai Essence comes from Aya Shameimaru!"

"And they're all total military types," Aya chuckled. "Each one has a distinct personality, eh? Amanojaku's hardworking, Hydralisk is emotionless, Kappa's innocently adorable, Vampire's mischievous, the Zerglings are moe, and now, the Mutalisks are utter military nuts."

"Do I even _want_ to know who you're talking about?" asked Himekaidou.

"Well, one of them is on their way," Aya shrugged.

"Evolution Master, I have arrived," announced yet another voice. There, dressed up as a Satori sniper cowgirl, as usual, was Satori Hydralisk.

"Hydralisk," Abathur sighed in relief. "Most appropriate timing. Wish to discuss problem."

"You want me to read your mind and see any clues you might have missed," Hydralisk answered calmly. "I know."

"And?" asked Abathur.

"There's no need," Hydralisk shook her head. "You all just had to look behind you."

And so, Abathur, Reimu, Alice, Bob, Tengu Mutalisk, and the entire population of the Tengu Village turned away from Hydralisk and to their backs.

Standing there was a familiar face.

"Sneaking around is boring," Ayumu Manson sighed. "I'm so tired of it! I need to get out into the open!"

…

**That's right; the killer was Ayumu Manson, the Zombie from the Kappa Village Incident. So, now it's obvious why her name is Ayumu Manson- Charles Manson was a serial killer who left "Helter Skelter" written in the blood of his victims at every crime, in reference to the Beatles song.**

**If you saw that coming, give yourself a cookie. Of course, I've probably completely failed at hiding a twist again, so you probably all get cookies.**

**Remember to review, this is Antagonist, signing off.**


	28. Loose Ends

**Hello, and welcome back to Gensokyo's Heart! I've also decided a schedule: I will do an arc and an intermission, and then I'll do a chapter of Ordinary Human Spectre, and then I'll do an arc and intermission for this one again. Since a chapter of OHS is as long as an entire arc with intermission for this story, it should work out fine.**

**Also, I've made a decision. It will be a long, long time until this fic ends, but when it does, it will have a successor: Gensokyo's Consensus. It'll basically be Gensokyo's Heart, but with Legion instead of Abathur. Of course, that's not happening for a **_**long time**_**. I've got too much to focus on already, what with this story, Ordinary Human Spectre, school, and my friends. I can't fit a third fanfic in there. And I have **_**big plans **_**for this fic. I'll keep doing arcs where Abathur creates a new Youkai Zerg until I run out of Zerg to turn into Youkai, but that's only the beginning. The fic will go on for, like, three times as long as it takes to get all the Youkai Zerg.**

**DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.**

…

"Who are you, again?" asked Reimu. Ayumu looked like someone had just shot an arrow through her chest.

"I apologize, am I supposed to know you?" asked Alice. Ayumu's pained expression was doubled.

"Who the hell?..." muttered Aya, and Ayumu finally fell over on the ground.

"I used to be important…" she cried.

"Remember you," Abathur narrowed his eyes.

"Really?!" Ayumu shot up.

"Do not have pleasant memories of you," Abathur growled. "Mutalisk. Obliterate."

"Will do!" Mutalisk saluted.

"Wait!" Ayumu cried again. "Hold on!"

"We're holding on now?" asked Reimu. "What, is there gonna be another stupid twist? Are you not really the killer?"

"No, no!" Ayumu waved her arms frantically. "You're holding on so that I can hit you with my surprise attack!"

She said the last bit just as frantically as the first, but immediately attacked before the shock wore off. Her white-and-red colored Danmaku flew in all directions, scattering the inhabitants of the Tengu village. In the end, the only natives to the Tengu village who remained were Aya, Momiji, and Tenma. Even then, those who stayed were hit.

"Son of a Hatchery!" Mutalisk shouted at the top of her lungs. "This woman is vile!"

"Am aware of that fact!" Abathur shouted over the commotion. "Too little time!"

"Hahaha!" Ayumu cackled. "Run in fear of my power!"

_This Great One has misused her power, much like the Zerg have!_ Bob shouted, then realized that Abathur, Mutalisk, and Hydralisk were standing right there, and glaring at him. _In the past, I mean!_

"Hang on!" shouted Tenma. "This is my village, and I'm going to protect it! You've been terrorizing Youkai Mountain for far too long!"

The Tengu leader ran straight at Ayumu with a fist extended, ready to punch. The punch connected, and sent Ayumu flying into a building. However, Ayumu only took about ten seconds to get up from that. Sure, she was covered in scuff marks and panting, but she otherwise seemed okay.

"Hah!" she mocked. "It'll take more than that to take down a zombie!"

"Mutalisk!" Abathur commanded. "Go get Vampire!"

"Yes, Evolution Master!" she saluted, flying off towards the Hercules.

"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Ayumu, flying towards the Zerg flyer.

"Oh yes, she does!" shouted Hydralisk, pulling up her rifle. "Zerg Sign: Spines!"

At that, the rifle fired off Danmaku shaped like Hydralisk spines, firing straight at Ayumu. It fired them roughly at the same rate that a normal Hydralisk would shoot its spines.

"H-hey!" Ayumu shouted. "You're keeping me from chasing her! You meanie!"

"Says the mass murderer…" Aya muttered.

"You have threatened the safety of the Tengu Village!" Momiji shouted. "Your acts are unforgivable, and you're complaining!"

"I always have the right to complain!" Ayumu shouted proudly. "I am in a free country!"

"Gensokyo isn't a country, moron!" shouted Reimu. "Get down from there or I'm coming up after you!"

"Mmm… nope!" Ayumu giggled, flying away. Reimu growled and flew towards Ayumu, with the intent to tackle. However, just as Reimu sped up to do so, Ayumu flew straight up and turned right back towards the Tengu village, flying backwards so as to see Reimu's face. She briefly landed on the ground, but jumped right back into the air.

"That… urgh!" Reimu yelled. "Alice, help me out!"

"Got it!" Alice shouted in confirmation. "Hourai, now!"

The red-colored doll flew out from the forest wielding a lance.

"Do not think lance is powerful enough," Abathur deadpanned.

"You'd be surprised what magic can do," Alice answered.

Surprisingly enough, Hourai began to fire Danmaku from her lance.

"Surprising result," Abathur admitted. "Perhaps not bad idea."

"There's a reason they call me the doll maker," Alice chuckled.

"Dammit!" Ayumu shouted. "This isn't what I need right now!"

"Ayumu, difficult opponent," Abathur narrowed his eyes. "Uses cheap tricks, is fast. Difficult, not worthy."

"Hey!" Ayumu yelled. "I heard that!"

"Good!" Reimu shouted back, landing next to Alice and Abathur. "I don't know if you haven't noticed, but we don't like you!"

_This Great One has angered all of the others! This is grounds for punishment!_ Bob yelled.

"This'll make a good article," Aya joked. "But, seriously, what you're doing here is unforgiveable. Can we break spellcard rules and kill her?"

"I won't, but I won't stop you, either," Reimu growled. "She doesn't deserve to be protected by the spellcard rules."

"No need!" called out the familiar voice of Vampire Ultralisk. "I have arrived!"

Abathur looked up to see Vampire and the Mutalisk flying side-by-side, the Mutalisk looking far more serious than her easygoing comrade.

"…Crap," Ayumu breathed. "That's an Ultralisk."

"You are aware of Ultralisks?" asked Abathur.

"How could I not?" asked Ayumu. "Considering what my boss is like."

"Huh?" asked Aya. "What's that about your boss?"

"…Crap! I let something slip!" Ayumu groaned. "Well, like hell I'll tell you!"

"Hey, she's getting away!" Momiji yelled. "Don't let her leave the village!"

"Don't worry!" Vampire grinned. "I won't! 'Zerg Sign: Kaiser Blade'!"

With the activation of her trademark spellcard, white Danmaku appeared around Ayumu in two arcs, and folded inwards towards Vampire, knocking Ayumu to the ground.

"Well," Vampire breathed. "That's dealt with."

…

"Urgh…" groaned Ayumu, rubbing her back. "That was painful…"

The next thing she knew, she had a sniper rifle in her face.

"Stand very still," Hydralisk commanded. "And put your hands behind your head."

Ayumu surrendered, holding her hands to the back of her head. She was beaten. The boss would be _pissed_ that she let her own hobby get in the way of the mission. At least the boss could break her out of whatever jail the humans or Youkai made. The boss was that powerful.

"Now," asked Reimu, walking up. "What's this about your boss knowing about Ultralisks?"

"…I guess you'll hurt me if I don't say," Ayumu groaned. "Alright. The boss is… well…"

"Something that has to be kept secret."

"Yeah!" Ayumu agreed. "That's exactly… right… Mayumi…"

Turning around, Ayumu saw her coworker, Mayumi, a Kappa engineer who tipped them off about the existence of the Zerus generator.

"Mayumi?" asked Ayumu. "What are you doing here?"

"Clearing up a loose end," the scientist scowled.

"Huh?" asked Ayumu. "Wait- please don't tell me that-"

"I have to kill you," Mayumi chuckled darkly. "I never did like you. Too insane for me."

"Hold on!" shouted Aya. "Who are you?! She was about to tell us something!"

"Something I don't want you to know," Mayumi grimaced.

"What do you-" Alice wasn't able to finish her sentence before Mayumi shot Ayumu right through the heart with one of the boss's weapons.

…

Abathur's heart would have stopped if he had one. He wasn't concerned that Ayumu was dead, he was actually relieved, but that Kappa had a Gauss Rifle, the standard weapon of a Terran Marine. This mysterious group wanted the Zerus generator, understood the threat of an Ultralisk, and had access to Gauss Rifles. This group got more dangerous and more mysterious by the minute.

"Now that this loose end is cleared up, I will hopefully not see you again for many months," Mayumi said, stepping back into the darkness. "After all, nobody wants their secrets spilled."

And with that, Mayumi was gone.

"Dammit!" Reimu yelled. "We could have gotten some real information out of her! Now, we have to just wait for these people!"

"Gauss Rifle," the Mutalisk said. "That was a Terran Gauss Rifle, designed specifically to pierce CMC Powered Armor. This group seems to have a lot of ties to the Koprulu Sector."

"Agree," Abathur agreed. "Most unsettling."

"…Well, at least the Youkai Mountain Murderer is gone," Reimu sighed. "Sanae's been stressing about that for days."

"That leaves one less question," Aya noted. "What's with you guys?"

The three Mutalisks had reunited, and flew next to each other.

"We feel that Evolution Master only needs one of us," the one in the center said. "I will go with Evolution Master. My sisters will remain here."

"That sounds like a good plan," Aya admitted. "Are you sure that you can handle living in the village?"

"We think so," the one on the left said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Well, if that's all, there are no more loose ends in our way, either," Aya shrugged. "I guess it's time for everyone to go home."

_I will escort the Great Ones to the shrine!_ Bob offered.

"Can return to Hercules," Abathur said proudly. "Must continue work."

"Got it," Aya gave a thumbs-up. "Come see me again sometime! Maybe next time a zombie murderer won't be on the mountain.

Abathur would have chuckled if he could, and the center Mutalisk picked him off and flew back towards the ship.

As he wove the Tengu sequences into his secret project, he realized something.

He never saw what Aya invited him to see.

…

**And that's this arc over! I apologize for the dark ending; it seemed like the appropriate way to end this arc.**

**Remember to review; this is Antagonist, signing off.**


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